Nobody Loves You The Way I Do
by Combined Gamers
Summary: Lapidot fic! Lapis Lazuli, co-leader to Beach City mafia in a city coated in darkness finds a mechanic named Olive. For the first time, finding someone makes her feel like a human being, not a monster. She's determined to hold onto the feeling even if blood gets spilled. But what she doesn't understand, is that no matter what you do you can't make someone love you. But she'll try.
1. Chapter 1

' _Just an oil change, my head light and my AC fixed... Hope they don't cost too much, that'll suck.'_ A blue haired woman by the name of Lapis Lazuli thought to herself as her car pulled up to a rather large garage. It was operated by the new local mechanic, Olive Odelet. She had moved in last June, but up until early October, she had kept to herself, Lapis didn't really care, the people of this city were insignificant to her. Sure faces had names and lives, but to her nobody _TRULY_ mattered. None of them realized they were being tricked and fooled and lied to. At least the money was nice, in the end it would all be worth pretending to be a normal, law-abiding citizen _WITHOUT_ blood on her hands.

She stepped out of her silver car, there was a small wooden sign on the garage door. The sign said 'if it's not open, just knock!', she took a well manicured hand and lightly tapped on the door. Whoever was inside must have been waiting, because the huge door lifted instantly. Inside was the tiniest woman Lapis had ever set eyes on, she even beat out Amethyst! She was pale and tired looking with fluffy, wild blonde hair and glasses over her bright green eyes.

"Oh! Hello ma'am, my name is Olive Odelet... But you probably knew that, a-anyway, I'm kinda new in town but I've never seen you around before... What's your name?" The woman spoke with a high-pitched, nasally voice, most people probably thought it was obnoxious, Lapis thought it was endearing.

"Lapis Lazuli. I'm here for maintenance on my car." She responded without any sort of tone in her voice. Olive nodded and pointed to the shiny silver vehicle.

"Just bring it in, and yourself as well, it's gonna be a while and it's getting chilly, I get nagged for leaving the door open... That and you look kinda cold." Said the blonde as she scratched the back of her neck, Lapis went back to her car and drove it into the garage. She stepped back out and watched as Olive went to work.

"Y'know, you're actually my first customer today... It hasn't been busy lately... Actually it's kind of lonely. All I have to pass the time is testing out tools, that gets boring after an hour." Olive started to speak once again. Without a word, Lapis lifted her head to watch the little mechanic work.

Funny enough, despite claiming to be lonely, she had a bright smile and her eyes were filled with joy as her little hands seemed to fly from place to place, Lapis gave a crooked smile.

"Well... You seem happy now." The blue haired woman spoke from where she had sat down on an old chair and without even looking up or missing a beat the blonde responded.

"I'm not alone anymore, I have you." She told Lapis, and actually _did_ look up at her with a warmhearted and innocent smile, Lapis could feel her cheeks turn pink just as Olive looked back down at the car.

"So, what are you doing with the... Parts and stuff." Lapis asked the blonde, who sprang up and ran over to her, Lapis could have sworn she saw stars in the woman's pretty green eyes. She looked ready to explode with happiness and Lapis actually started to laugh.

"I could show you if you want I know it's a lot of tech babble but I think it's pretty neat like this one part is super small but tough to get out and..." Olive's 100 mile a minute speech trailed off and she looked down a bit, Lapis couldn't see her eyes, "I'm sorry, this probably sounds dumb, you just wanted to know what I was doing with your car..." The young woman's voice was filled with apology.

"No!" Lapis' voice was rather loud in the empty building and Olive jumped and flinched back, Lapis regretted raising her voice, "S-sorry, it's just... If you love this stuff, then why would you ever beat yourself down for liking it? I mean, you're smart, and sure I don't get it, but would you explain it to me?" She asked and Olive nodded joyfully. She started to guide the taller girl over to the car, borderline skipping.

"I'd love to! Come on, over here! See, this part right here is for making sure..." Lapis watched her blissfully, taking in every little thing the little nerd had to say, occasionally Olive would turn around, as if to make sure the blue haired woman was still listening.

Lapis thought this was adorable, Olive (Lapis didn't like that name) working diligently and happily taking the time to explain everything to her, even answering the occasional question. Lapis always liked how people looked when they were talking about something, but for some reason, this girl was different from others. Her mess of blonde hair was, in Lapis' eyes, absolutely adorable and her vibrant green eyes were enchantingly beautiful.

Olive stopped talking, it had been 3 hours, Lapis didn't care. The mechanic stepped back to show off to Lapis what she had done. Even Pearl would be impressed, and Lapis was convinced that woman had a pole up her ass since the day she was born.

The blue haired criminal sighed, "So? How much do I owe you?" She asked as she prepared to get her wallet out, she did bad things, but she liked this woman, and Olive deserved money. She could hear the blonde opening the door, she could also hear a small 'Nope.'

"For sweet and pretty girls, free of charge... Thanks for listening to me." She said, and despite the cold air and her brain telling it not to, her face burned. What was wrong with her?! Here she was, a hardened killer with little empathy... Blushing? Over this nerdy little woman who was currently giving her a smooth (cheesy) grin and finger guns? In this city, everyone was dark, everything was corrupt and goodness did not, could not last... Except here.

"Uh, are you okay?" The short woman asked her, and before she could stumble out a response she heard a snicker. "You should go get some rest, it's almost 8:30."

"Um, yes... Thank you." She responded, her tone _ALMOST_ devoid of emotion.

TIME SKIP

Lapis made it all the way to her (and the others) house, for some reason, she felt... Like there was more of her... Talking with the charming woman had made her forget everything. As if she wasn't a psychopath, like she had a purpose. She wanted to keep that feeling forever.

She quietly made her way into the house, it was dark, Lapis flipped on the light switch, and wasn't surprised to see a tall woman with pale skin and a long nose glaring at her. She was supposed to be home 2 and a half hours ago.

"Where have you been?! It's been hours I thought you were dead!" Pearl squawked at her, but she wasn't listening, "What's with the dreamy look on your face... You didn't take any-"

Lapis turned to the older woman and snarled "I'm FINE! I met someone, someone I need you to... 'Keep Watch' over. You'll do it, right? I mean, you are in _MY_ district, so you kinda have to." She told peach haired woman in front of her, she looked confused.

"You, met someone? What is this for?" Asked Pearl, her baby blue eyes quickly filling with worry, Lapis chuckled and Pearl seemed to grow even more fearful, none of the members had ever seen Lapis happy unless she was drunk. (And that one didn't count.)

Lapis closed her dark blue eyes, she could see the blonde woman's silhouette and hear her giggling ring in her ears, she opened them again and took Pearl's pale shoulders with her tan hands. She could hear Pearl ask "What was her name?"

"Yes, I met someone, a very special someone, I need you to get every bit of information you can on her. Her name _WAS_ Olive Odelet." Lapis told her, Pearl's nodded and started to turn away, before she looked back at Lapis, the circular scar on her forehead was right in the shorter girls face as Pearl bent down to her height.

"What do you mean by was?!" She asked in a full on panic, Lapis smirked.

"From now on, her name is Peridot."


	2. Chapter 2

"Y'know P, I don't think I've EVER seen Lapis this happy." Said Amethyst as the older woman slipped on her coat, she watched her friend struggle with the stuck zipper and giggled before a much taller woman with bright pink hair pulled it down and managed to get it to go all the way up to just under Pearl's chin.

"Oops, sorry Pearl... At least you'll be warm." Sheena laughed softly as Pearl adjusted her coat and grumbled. She leaned against the wall and turned her head to look at Amethyst. That's why the purple haired woman liked Sheena, she'd always listened to people, she was an example that appearances did not always match personality. She was respectful and polite... Never-mind the fact that she and Pearl had killed someone last week, that didn't matter anymore.

"Yeah, Ames... You're right. We've known her for three years and I have never actually seen her like this. That lady she met must be some kind of fucking miracle worker." Said Sheena, Pearl huffed loudly from the doorway.

"She takes up so many photos on my camera because I have to keep taking pictures of her for Lapis. I had to memorize her schedule to make sure I always know where to be. And no matter what kind of gift I put on her doorstep she never takes them!" Pearl shouted in frustration before a loud, sleepy groan from a certain blue haired woman's room upstairs caused her to shut her mouth immediately. Lapis was _NOT_ a morning person, and she was already a volatile thanks to the events of two weeks ago.

Pearl and Sheena may have had power in the suburbs of the huge city, but the west coast was Lapis' territory, and if you were there you did what she said. In the south coast it was Jasper, Garnet had the business district and Amethyst had the slums. If you were in your district you were feared, the only exception was the true boss, Rose Quartz. You listened to her no matter what.

But Rose Quartz couldn't always be there for them, she had a family... A husband named Greg and a teenage son named Steven. Rose made it quite clear she didn't want them involved in the business, that didn't stop the kid (and his girlfriend on occasion) from visiting. It was sweet really, he knew what they did but he loved them anyway, even Lapis was nice to him, and she was rather crude with people when she wasn't out in public.

Speak of the devil, here she was. She leaned on the railing as she came down the long spiral staircase, clearly still half asleep, "It took me an hour but I found it." She said, her voice somewhat rough due to only recently waking up.

"Found what?" Asked Pearl, who was seconds away from stepping out the door, the blue haired woman looked at her as if she had four arms.

"Peridot's phone number! I told you last night when you were in her apartment, were you not listening?" Lapis shouted and Amethyst cringed, Lapis' voice turned lighter but the anger in her eyes still burned, "Tell me when she isn't home so I can call to hear her voice on the answering machine."

Pearl sighed, "Alright, I will. I'll be off now, goodbye." She said calmly, and Sheena rose from her place leaned on the wall to go over to her... Girlfriend? Wife? Amethyst wasn't sure.

"Wait Pearl! You have something on your face!" Sheena told her, the pale woman stopped, only half in the house, puzzled, Sheena quickly pecked the shorter girl on the cheek, "It's me." The pink haired woman said with a wink. Pearl took a sharp breath in, her face turning a bright pink before she stuttered out a quick 'I love you bye' and rushed out of the huge house. Amethyst just laughed, Sheena smiled as she watched Pearl leave.

TIME SKIP\POV CHANGE- Pearl

She shivered in the chilly late October air, it was only 6:45 in the morning and the west coast was still asleep. It wouldn't be much different in her part of the city, the wealthy part of town had the cushy soft people who never worked a day in their lives, never _REALLY_ earned their money, Pearl hated them. She didn't take her car, instead opting to simply walk through the mostly empty streets. She took out her phone and slipped the earphones in, the peach haired criminal placed one of them in her ear, pretending to listen to music. She was waiting for directions from Lapis.

She wanted to go home and sleep for another hour (she was a morning person, but she wasn't a _MORNING_ person, if that made sense) but their base of operations just _HAD_ to be in Lapis Lazuli's district. It wasn't that she disliked the girl, the two just... Didn't exactly see eye to eye.

"Good morning." A smug and haughty (not to mention wide awake) voice cut through the frigid air (oddly cold for late October, at least in this city. A tall woman with pale blonde hair similar to Pearl's (except that it was clearly dyed, Pearl's was natural) passed by her, almost bumping into her. Pearl started to open her mouth to say something, but her breath caught in her throat. The woman looked a little _TOO_ familiar, maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. Because _THAT_ woman had died years ago.

It was almost 7:00 when Olive stepped out of a small apartment complex. She looked pissed off and exhausted, not 'I just woke up' exhausted, but 'I'm so done arguing with people'. She took a quick picture when the nerdy girl wasn't looking and sent it to her obsessive 'teammate'. They all called the gang different things.

She immediately heard (she needed to remember to turn the ringer down when she had her earphones in) her phone go off. She looked down at the new message.

Lazuli: Thank you! I love it... But do you think maybe you could get her face a bit better?

Pearl growled, pretending to be angry with the phone being 'slow' and shoved it back into her coat pocket. She noticed that Olive was turning the corner near a store and the tall woman had to speed walk to catch up in order to continue watching over her. Olive walked past a jewelry store, and stopped to look at some of the things, her green eyes widened and she sucked in some air through her teeth when she saw the prices, she quickly kept walking.

Pearl stopped by the window to the store and called Lapis, the blue haired criminal was decidedly being an ass that morning, as the phone rang twice before she picked up.

Lapis' sharp and uncaring voice sounded in her ear, "I was eating breakfast, what is it?" She asked and Pearl resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I don't think Peridot has much money, she was looking at necklaces before she saw the price, then walked away quickly." She said slowly and quietly, taking a small pause when a teenager walked past. _'Oh yes, that's right, we have Steven coming over tonight.'_ She mentally reminded herself, sometimes she could be pretty forgetful.

"Really? Oh the poor thing! Go into that store and get a peridot necklace for her, it'll help her get used to her name when she comes to us." Said Lapis, and Pearl could _HEAR_ the smile in the younger girls voice and she shivered, she still didn't know what exactly it was that Lapis wanted.

She ducked into an empty alley and whisper-shouted (you never knew who was trying to listen), "You had better not be trying to make some kind of human pet, we have standards Lapis!" There was a noise of pure disgust on the other end, like the blue haired woman was gagging.

"Seriously?! I love her! I don't ever wanna hurt her, how could you even think that? Do you not trust me?!" Lapis screeched into the phone and Pearl had to take out the earphone for a second to rub at her now sore ear.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just, I saw someone... Someone who made me think about... Well anyway, I'm sorry I brought it up. You know how my thoughts get all... Muddled." Said Pearl, and she walked back out onto the sidewalk, and subsequently into the store. It was open surprisingly early, it was only 7:30 in the morning for pete sake! Then Pearl realized that the people who owned the store most likely lived upstairs.

"Alright, I have to go." Said Pearl and she hung up the phone before the other woman could give a response.

She walked into the small shop, the short, dark skinned lady was reading a book at the counter. When she neared the front of the store, the woman looked up. "Oh, hi there, good morning and welcome to Beach City Treasure Chest. Is there anything I can help you with?" The short woman asked, she couldn't have been older than 20. Pearl nodded and pointed over to where the necklaces resided at the window.

"Yes ma'am, you see, I have a specific request... I need a necklace with a Peridot in it, I hope you have one?" She asked, she didn't like talking to people, or 'outsiders' as they were known by the others; she never knew what to say and she always felt awkward.

"Um, I think we do... Have somebody special in mind?" The woman, Abby as her name-tag read, stepped out from behind the counter. She walked over to the display case, and in the exact spot Olive had been looking was the jewelry Pearl needed.

"Lady you have _NO_ _IDEA_." The pale girl said with a strained smile, Abby didn't seem to notice.

The necklace had come to little over 85$. This girl _BETTER_ be gay.


	3. Chapter 3

Olive was glad she finally had a day off, ever since she had been given her job by the weird lady in yellow, she had been working non-stop. She just wished her day hadn't started off so poorly, what with her 'wake up call' being her annoying girlfriend (who she was infinitely ready to break up with) screaming at her to wake up. She needed to take that girl's spare key away.

She could still remember the things they had yelled at each other.

Limone had barged into her room and started shaking her before she could even put her glasses on to see the taller woman.

"Get up already, you moron! You're going to be late! The shop is supposed to open at 7:15, get ready!" The harpy had nagged at her. Why was she dating (if you could even call it that) this woman again? Oh right. Her boss had set them up. "Don't you like it when I come to work with you?"

' _You don't even listen to me when we're there! You just ignore me!'_ Was what she wanted to say, instead Olive had groaned loudly, "It's my day off!" She had hissed, Limone simply scoffed at her and ripped the blanket off, leaving Olive freezing.

"Like I'm gonna actually _BUY_ that load of crap. You never have days off... You're just lazy-" She was cut off by the smaller girl taking her phone off of her nightstand and shoving it into her face. One of the messages on it was from Olive's boss, an uptight lady known as Yellow Diamond. The message read: Olive Odelet, it has come to my attention the you have been working everyday for 30 days, you have been allowed a one day break.

"Well you should still get up." Limone had hissed, and Olive sat up in her bed, the taller woman smiled, "Good girl."

Her girlfriend had huffed and Olive got up on her knees to match Limone's height, "Good to see you?" She said in a somewhat questioning tone, and when she tried to lean in to make an attempt at kissing the girl, Limone shoved her away, she fell over onto her back with a soft 'oof!'

"Don't even try it, stupid." The light haired woman said haughtily and stormed out of the first floor apartment, slamming the door. Olive sighed, she was wide awake yet already tired of people.

15 minutes later and she was out the door, she passed by a tall woman listening to music on her phone. _'At least someone else is up.'_ She thought to herself, although the woman looked rather annoyed.

She'd had a strange dream the night before, she was sitting at a large table with many people around it, all of them (she couldn't quite make out the faces, even the memory of the dream was fading fast) seemed to be watching her, some seemed happy, some worried, and one of them loving.

She stopped by a jewelry store as she walked through the sleeping city. She wasn't _too_ big on that kind of thing, but she couldn't deny that the stones, which sparkled in the weak October sun, looked pretty. She looked at the display, her eyes catching on one of the peridot necklaces, she liked, no _loved_ the colour green, not to mention it was also her birthstone.

She had liked it up until she saw the price scribbled below it. Over 85$!? She took a sharp breath in and continued on with her walk. About a minute later and the faint sound of the stores bell ringing echoed through the quiet city. It had startled her more than she would admit. For the last 2 weeks, she felt oddly paranoid, as if she was a small animal in a huge canyon with birds of prey waiting over her... Like they were waiting to grab her and carry her off.

It was now sundown as Olive got on the bus to get home, her hours of walking around the park, looking at Halloween decorations on people's house and travelling through the boardwalk to watch birds and fish (but not people, she didn't always like people, and in this city a lot of them were rude) had left her exhausted. She and a peach haired woman (she looked familiar) boarded the empty bus.

"Hi there." She greeted the woman, her mother always told her to be kind to people, no matter what. The woman looked up from her phone and waved, her face unreadable. "Ready for candy-seekers?" Olive asked, her voice filled with cheer. The lady shook her head, and took out her earphones.

"No, we don't hand out candy at my house. Even if we tried, my friend would my friend would probably attempt to eat all of it." She told Olive, who let out a snicker, she could imagine this woman running around a house tying to stop someone from taking candy.

"I don't either, heck I live in an apartment but that doesn't stop kids from trying." She said and the taller girl laughed before she stood, ringing the bell for the bus to stop, she had incredible balance, Olive would've fallen on her face trying that.

"Goodbye, miss." The pale woman said, her appearance kind of made Olive think of a bird. Despite herself, after waving goodbye to the tall lady she started laughing to herself, she was somewhat quiet so the bus driver wouldn't hear.

"Nyeheheh... Well, at least she was somewhat polite."

POV CHANGE- Lapis Lazuli

It was only a few more minutes until Steven showed up, man she loved that kid, she owed him her freedom but whenever she tried to thank him, he just shook his head and told her not to. That it was mostly his mother Rose Quartz, but she didn't always get along with the large woman. Although she was pretty thankful for power over the coast.

She felt her phone go off in her jeans pocket, she clicked it on to see a message from Pearl.

Nerd Bird: I just got off the bus, she's heading home. She isn't handing out candy tonight if that info helps.

Lapis nodded, she wished she wouldn't have to use that information. Her original plan was to try and find Peridot and talk to her again... But just the thought of approaching the smaller girl made her blush deeply and could turn her into a stuttering (not to mention mortifying) mess.

Lapis: Thank you Pearl, you should come home now.

"I'm right over here!" She could hear Pearl's voice from outside the cave mouth. On the restricted beach was a huge cliff, what nobody seemed to know about however, was that the cliff had a large opening, said opening lead to a gigantic house built into the rock.

Lapis walked over to Pearl, "Did you put it in her mail box?" She asked, and the older woman nodded, her pale blue eyes darkened.

"What now? I have to get back to my district soon. I can't keep doing this forever, you know." She said, Lapis understood. Pearl had rich customers with way too much time on their hands, many were addicts and they needed the money off of them. "Has the call come yet?" Pearl asked, Lapis shook her head, letting her blue bangs fall into her eyes.

"Nope. Steven is coming in about 15 minutes." Said Lapis before heading inside. She wanted to know how Bismuth was doing despite hating the buff woman. Jasper had shown up about an hour ago along with Garnet. She and Garnet were okay, Jasper was her friend... The two had been rescued at the same time and had spent quite some time running the same coast before Rose had the south coast set up for her.

But Jasper had a girlfriend, in the next city over. Her name was Bismuth Burkhart and she could create weapons like she could breath. Unfortunately, The Diamond Authority knew it too, Bismuth was a prisoner and 'Homeworld', the codename for the city was her cell. If she left she would be hunted down and killed.

It was the same situation for Garnet's mothers Ruby and Sapphire. The two lovers were double agents, so to speak, carefully feeding false information to the Diamonds and reporting real info to... Laps groaned internally, 'The Crystal Gems'... She didn't like that name, instead she had settled for calling it 'Beach City Mafia'

All of them were gathered around Jasper's laptop, they were sitting on the floor together. Lapis knelt beside Amethyst, who waved at her. The house was dead silent until a Skype ring-tone sounded in the air, Jasper clicked it, holding her thumb over the camera just in case it was some sort of trick.

"You guys there?" Bismuth was on the screen, she looked down and muttered "What the hell? I have the cam option checked..."

"Happy Halloween, ya rainbow-y jackass!" Jasper exclaimed loudly into the mic, uncovering the webcam. Bismuth jumped a little and laughed

"Hey you guys! I'm so glad to see all of you" She leaned in, "I don't have anything new... But Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire are doing just fine. They couldn't talk because Ruby has work to do and Sapphire's helping her out, but they said they love and miss you."

Garnet, who was normally stoic under a pair of shades, smiled warmly. She took off her sunglasses and hung them on the collar of her wiped her eyes a bit. "Thank you, Bismuth."

"Hey, don't you dare... C'mon now, you're gonna set me off too!" Bismuth said, as tough as she was, the dark-skinned woman couldn't stand seeing people cry. "So Jazzy..." She started, and Jasper turned slightly red at the nickname, "Anything new at the bar?" She asked.

"Don't get her started." Garnet warned, but it was too late as Jasper had already started her mini-speech.

"It's going perfectly. We hired this teenager, they call him 'Sour Cream'... Not 100% sure if that's his real name, but whatever. Anyway, kid's a perfect DJ, he drove the crowd fucking wild the other night!" The large woman shouted and Amethyst, her little sister, cheered loudly with pride.

"You... You should've seen it. It was great." Jasper's voice softened, and she reached out and touched the computer screen, the rainbow haired woman nodded.

"I know... I'm tryin' Jazzy. Look I don't have much longer-" She was cut off by a knock at the door. A 17 year old boy with curly hair and a big smile opened it slowly before he saw the computer resting on the floor.

"Are you guys talking to Bismuth?!" He asked excitedly, Pearl patted the ground beside her.

"C'mon, Steven, she doesn't have much longer." She said, the dark haired boy rushed over, coat and shoes still on as he waved to the computer.

"Hey Steven! How's school goin' little buddy?" Bismuth asked, clearly delighted to see the teen.

"Good. I got a class with Connie!" He announced, Bismuth smirked. She took a sip of coffee before asking.

"Oh yeah... How's your girlfriend? Am I invited to the wedding?" She started to laugh when Steven's face turned crimson, and he bashfully covered his face.

"Bismuth! Knock it off!" He said, while giggling slightly. The buff woman laughed a bit more, than sighed peacefully.

"Right, right, that's none of my _BISMUTH_. Alright, I gotta go eat dinner, I'll call you guys next week." She said. Jasper waved to her girlfriend, tears pricking in her amber eyes. "C'mon Jasper, don't cry."

"I don't cry, I'm not a damn pussy." She said but her voice shook a little, she knew that every-time she spoke with Bismuth could be the last time. Pearl didn't even say anything about the fact that she just swore in front of Steven

Bismuth stretched her arms a bit, "Alright, I love you."

"Love you too." Said Jasper, who was a bit red from the affection, she could be an absolute teddy bear sometimes. That is, if a teddy bear could crush a man's skull like a grape.

Everyone waved as Bismuth signed off. Lapis' phone alarm clock went off and she stepped back out of the house after ruffling Steven's hair and grabbing her pistol off the TV stand.

She saw a tall, burly man head towards the house, she kept the gu hidden behind her, and held out her hand when he was in range. "Lady Lazuli... To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, Lapis held up her phone, it had a picture of Peridot, it had been taken at the bus stop an hour ago.

"I need her. I'll send you her address, go and get her... Tonight. She is to be unconscious when she is brought here. Absolutely no harm whatsoever is to come to her." Said Lapis, her voice cold as ice.

The man raised a bushy eyebrow, "And what if I refuse until you pay me more?" He said with a shit-eating grin, without a word Lapis took out her pistol and fired a shot at the cave wall, and another right by his ear. She smiled eerily, her dark blue eyes looked animalistic.

"Then next time, I _won't_ miss."

The man, Felix she believed (it didn't matter, he was dead to her the moment he got cocky) rushed back to his car. Lapis gently set her gun down and looked at the picture of Peridot. The cute little blonde had dozed off for a few moments, allowing Pearl to get a good picture. Lapis softly ran her finger down the side of it, where Peridot's cheek was. The criminal sighed with bliss and quietly whispered.

"Are you excited my love? We're going to be together _VERY_ soon..."

POV CHANGE- Olive Odelet

Getting home had been strange, she'd found yet another gift in her mail box. No label on it, just like all the others. It did nothing but add to her fear that she was being watched. But every single time she looked over her shoulder there was nobody there. When she looked in the box, there it was... The very same necklace she had been looking at that morning! The silver chain was the perfect length for her neck, and the large peridot shone in the light of her living room. She still hadn't decided what to do with it yet.

She had finally finished drying off her messy blond mane of hair. She sat down on her couch with a small bowl of popcorn and turned on the TV, before realizing that she had forgotten to put her Camp Pining Hearts DVD in the player. She groaned and stood up again. She hated season 5... Except for one episode, the amount of Percy/Pierre subtext was incredible! To think they had gone from no interaction to being in the same cabin was _AMAZING!_

Olive was about to take the DVD out of its case when she heard a knock at the door, she let out a little trill of frustration, it was probably some dumb teens. Honestly, who expected candy from an _APARTMENT COMPLEX!?_

The knock came again, a bit louder this time, "Not gonna open it." She whispered softly to herself. The third time, it was a loud bang.

"What?!" Olive shouted, before the colour drained from her face... Had she remembered to pay the rent? Did she seriously just yell at who could have possibly been the landlord? She knew he was a bit of a dick... But coming around on Halloween night wasn't fair!

She walked over to the door and opened it up, instead of an angry landlord the was a burly man with tanned skin and short black hair. "Umm, hello?" She said, and he seemed to pounce, trying to cover her mouth with a small white cloth. Olive screamed as the man shut the door behind him. It didn't matter, the couple that lived upstairs were out and her neighbour was high, nobody could help her.

The huge man cornered her in her tiny kitchen, she could feel hot tears stream down her face. Olive whimpered and sobbed. She didn't want to die! Not like this! The man leaned down, trying to put the cloth on her when she looked to her right, sitting on the counter was a small pair of sharp scissors. The tiny woman grabbed them and stabbed her attacker directly in his arm, he howled with pain, dropped his cloth and she scrambled away.

"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" The man roared and chased Olive down before she got to her door. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket before his arm wrapped around the tiny girls waist. She screamed and cried.

"Let me go! Please! I'll give you anything just please, let me go!" The blonde cried out in vain and she saw what he had pulled out. A needle filled with clear liquid. The intruder jabbed the needle into the back of her neck. Olive's thrashing soon started to die down, she went limp and her vision faded to black as the world faded away.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Remember to review if you liked it!**_

Olive groaned softly. Her neck stung like hell and she barely had any feeling in her legs. She was lying on something soft, she realized, but she didn't want to open her eyes, she felt like every ounce of energy she had had been drained out of her body. Her arms were up beside her head, and she could feel something cold around her wrists. Using all of her strength, (which wasn't much) she tried to slowly pull her arms back down to her sides.

She stopped when she heard the sound of a small metal chain grinding against wood. Slowly her eyes opened, and they confirmed her fears, she had no clue on earth where she was. It was a bedroom obviously, judging by well, the bed, along with a large closet and dresser, all of which were a soft shade of green. But if this was a bedroom... Whose was it?

Olive looked down at her chest, thanking every god in the sky she still had her green t-shirt and pyjama shorts on, sitting there was the necklace she had been given... Yesterday? What time was it? There didn't seem to be any windows.

She looked up, the headboard of the bed had wooden bars, her wrists were in handcuffs that went around one of the bars. She tried her best to muster up some strength to pull on them again, but to no avail.

She could hear soft giggling and turned her head best she could to the source of the sound. There she was, sitting in a chair across from the bed in a white tank top and jeans, staring and smiling sweetly down at Olive as if she were the woman's most prized possession was Lapis Lazuli. Olive started to shake, she could feel tears pricking her eyes. Lapis' voice came out as sweet as sugar and spoke slowly and calmly, "Oh I'm so glad you're finally awake."

"L-lapis? What is this?" Olive asked, terrified for her life. Lapis got up from her chair and knelt beside the bed, she folded her arms and rested her head in them. She gazed at Olive and sighed contently.

"It's okay, sweetie... You don't have to be scared, I won't hurt you." The blue haired woman's eyes were filled with affection. She ran her warm, tan hand over Olive's cheek before tracing her jawline with a dark blue nail, "The bad man who hurt you is gone now."

Olive's blood turned to ice, because all at once, something clicked together. It was like the pieces of a puzzle were fitting together to create a horrifying picture. An awful little voice in Olive's brain whispered, _'There's no way Lapis should know about that...'_ She sniffled and quivered a bit, the room was cold as death. She felt some of her energy return and she squirmed until the blue haired lady placed a hand just below her chest to try and calm the panicking woman down.

"Calm down sweetie, you're okay." Lapis started to speak again as she ruffled Olive's hair, "I'm so sorry that happened to you... It really wasn't my wish." She looked down and retracted her arm, her dark blue eyes were covered by her bangs.

"You did this? Why? Lapis... Did I offend you or something?" Asked Olive, and Lapis looked back up, the words seemed to have startled her. She rested her hand on the younger woman's side.

"Oh darling, no! You didn't upset me at all. I did this because I care about you." She smiled, "And by the way, I'm _SO_ flattered that remembered my name! I remembered yours... Although, we're going to have to make a little change Peridot." She snorted and giggled when confusion crossed Olive's features.

"P-peridot? What are you talking about?" Asked the small blonde, her tiny, panic-fuelled adrenaline burst fading as quickly as it came. "Is this because of the necklace or something? Did _YOU_ give it to me?"

"That's your name now, silly!" Lapis spoke as if she were talking to a young child, "Olive is just too plain for you... And darling you're not plain at all! You're very special to me, so you deserve a much nicer name. I need you to fit in with us, people here get might get upset because they aren't used to you yet. Please consider it." The tiny woman nodded, she had been picked on all her life, what with having a name like that combined with being Greek. She hated the name Olive.

"Although no, _I_ didn't physically give it to you... My, umm, associate did. I would've loved to though! It's just... The thought of approaching you like that made me so nervous. I'm fine now though, watching you sleep helped. Sorry if that sounds kind of strange, it's just... You're so cute! I couldn't help myself." She blushed and the blonde whimpered in fear, she instinctively tried to bring her arms down to her face, the handcuffs on them didn't give in in the slightest, instead a shock of pain went up her arms from the sudden jolt of being pulled and halted causing her to hiss. She sniffled and started to sob, she was going to die here, wasn't she?

"No, no, don't cry it's okay baby." Lapis cooed and brushed the tears off her cheeks. "Let me get those off of you... I know they must hurt pretty bad. Are you feeling okay?" Asked Lapis as she got up to take the handcuffs off of... Peridot's... Wrists and the small girl brought them down slowly to start rubbing them. "I had to put those on you when I went out, I didn't want you to turn over and smother yourself, or run away."

Peridot looked up at the taller woman, "What did you do?" She asked, her voice shaky from trying to keep herself calm. Lapis' features turned grim.

"I gave that _rat_ what he deserved for hurting you."

FLASHBACK

Lapis had just finished putting the handcuffs on Peridot, the blonde was snoring softly, Lapis blushed at the sight. She leaned down to kiss Peridot's cheek when the lovely girl started to groan in her sleep, she turned her head and Lapis gasped. There was a small bloodstain on the back of her neck. She turned Peridot's head a bit more to inspect, and started to growl.

She cleaned it quickly and lightly brushed her lips onto the blonde's forehead. She headed out of the chilly room and all the way out into the opening of the cavern. She made sure to grab her gun and black silk gloves.

Felix was there, waiting for the money from his pissed off boss. She pointed the gun straight at his face. "L-lady Lazuli!? What is it-"

She cut him off just as he was about to finish his question, "Don't think I didn't see it!" Lapis roared, Felix took a step back, his arms now in the air.

"I... She stabbed me with scissors!" He tried to defend himself, now clearly panicking, "I've been working with you for over a year!" He cried, but the tan skinned mob leader wasn't having it.

"Don't play cute with me, _Felix_. She was trying to defend herself!" Lapis took a deep breath, "Turn around and get on your knees." She ordered, her voice like calm like an ocean before a storm. Dangerous, with the anger boiling just underneath the surface waiting for the lightest breeze to let all hell break loose.

"My name isn't-"

"Did I fucking stutter?! _NOW_!" Lapis snarled at him, the large man nodded and turned around, he slowly lowered himself so that his knees were on the cold rocky floor. His hands were still in the air, Lapis waltzed over to him, her finger on the trigger.

"Lady Lazuli please, this is unreasonable!"

"So was hurting my little angel, you _BASTARD_." She put the gun to his neck, in the same place he had pricked _HER_. He started to cry.

"P-please, I have a family! I need the money!" Lapis cackled loudly, the horrible sound echoing all throughout the cavern. She leaned down to the man's ear and softly whispered.

" _Not where you're going."_ She watched happily as his body crumpled and the blood pooled beneath his now destroyed throat.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Sorry for being late, got sick. How are you guys doing?**_

"You... Killed him... Didn't you?" Asked Peridot, and she closed her eyes, Lapis knelt down to look up at her, it broke her heart a little to see the beautiful blonde upset. She took one of Peridot's hands in her own and sighed heavily.

"I... I had to. He hurt you Peridot, I never authorized what he did. I can't have people disobeying me like that, you've probably guessed it but..." Her voice trailed off, she was about to admit something she considered quite shameful. When she opened her mouth again, Lapis heard Peridot speak up.

"You're a criminal. I wouldn't have guessed before though, you're good at hiding it." Peridot's voice was low, "Honestly though... You seem rather nice, at least to me I guess."

Lapis perked up a bit, she smiled sweetly and put her best sugary voice back on, talking with the girl was getting easier. "Oh, of course I'll be nice to you darling, I love you." She snorted a bit and laughed when Peridot's head shot straight up, the small blonde's cheeks flushing a bright crimson before Lapis handed her the pair of glasses that had come with her. Peridot stood up, stumbling a little from being out of it for over 9 hours.

Peridot looked up at her, she seemed a little confused, "So... What now?" She asked, the blue haired woman beamed and clapped her hands together.

"Alright, come on baby. I want you to meet everyone, oh I bet they'll be _so_ excited to see you! Except Pearl." Said Lapis, she was close to bouncing with joy, she grabbed Peridot's hand and started to led the smaller girl out of the room and beginning to go right down a hall. Peridot tugged on her arm slightly, she looked down and the blonde was blushing.

"Um... Lapis? Where's the bathroom?" She asked, the blue haired girl now changed directions, instead of heading right, she was going left, nearly dragging a nervous Peridot with her.

Lapis gave her a gentle smile, "You know princess, you're really lucky, the bathroom is across from your room!" Peridot nodded, she seemed to grow a bit nervous when Lapis said 'your room'. She leaned against the wall while Peridot was inside the luxurious room. She wasn't afraid of the cute blonde trying to run away. There was always someone on watch during the night, just in case someone found the hideout, and there wasn't a single window in the house, so she couldn't escape that way either.

Peridot came back out into the hallway, Lapis grabbed her hand again and led her down the hall. She took her down the long spiral staircase, making sure the timid woman didn't stumble. "I think Steven's down there, he's such a nice kid! Everyone just loves him, he actually just got back from a little trip with his father from Empire City." Said the taller woman, Peridot looked up at her, her vibrant green eyes filled with concern.

"So, wait... You guys are, um, criminals... How old is this child?" The small girl asked, Lapis giggled softly and pointed at a huge beige couch, lying upside down blowing bubbles with gum was a short Latina woman with lilac hair. After her large bubble popped, she let her head hang off the couch and sighed sleepily. Beside her was a teenage boy with dark curly hair, he was playing some sort of game, his tongue poked out a little from trying to focus.

"He's staying with us for a while." Lapis whispered, she didn't want to disturb him. "We help him with things like homework. He's 17 to answer your question." Peridot nodded, Lapis led her downstairs quickly, the lower floor was a huge place with a plasma TV and all kinds off entertainment systems. "Well, here's the main place where we all hang out! I know you like games baby, and so do Amethyst and Garnet, so we went out and got a bunch!" Said Lapis, she blushed and looked down at her feet, she was wearing pale blue socks that were quite thin. She was cold but she wanted Peridot to get comfortable as quickly as possible. "So, what do you think? Do you like it?" _'Oh please like it, all I want is for you to be happy...'_

"Wow... This stuff is amazing!" Peridot broke free of her rapidly fading grip, she was starting to get flustered again. The little blonde ran up to the huge TV, Lapis swore she saw stars in her pretty green eyes. Peridot looked over at her. "How much did this cost?!" Lapis thought for a moment. Peridot would be fine with her selling... Less than legal stuff, right?

"Oh, it was only a couple pounds of coke." She said without batting an eye, Peridot turned around, the colour drained from her face. "But it's okay, I won't get you involved, that stuff's too dangerous for you." She said to try and soothe the panicking girl. But her little sweetheart had bolted. Lapis just stood there in shock, she didn't think she would drive Peridot off so quickly... Lapis sighed and looked down at her feet again, her bangs covered her eyes. She blew it.

POV SHIFT- Peridot

She didn't think Lapis would be THAT kind of criminal! Sure she'd had Peridot kidnapped, but now she knew her life was in danger for sure, she considered running out the front door, but crossed off THAT idea upon seeing the gun right near it, painted with dry blood.

' _Okay screw that!'_ She thought as her mind raced into overdrive, the girl and boy on the couch from earlier were gone, but there was no way she was gonna run out the door, Lapis would probably shoot her for running away. Peridot's thought process slammed to a halt when she heard Lapis' voice from much farther down the stairs, deeper in the house, it occurred to the blonde that Lapis hadn't even turned around, the blue haired woman had no idea where Peridot was.

"Peri?! Sweetie I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that! I didn't think you would react that way! Please come back." Lapis was looking for her... Peridot didn't want to know what would happen if she were to be found.

Peridot (because yes she wanted that name) fled up the stairs, a plan starting to form, she'd block the door to 'her room' (as if) and wouldn't come out until Lapis let her go free. When she got to the top of the stairs she turned to the direction of the bedroom she woke up in. Just as she turned a corner, however, she smacked straight into the teenage boy from before, causing them to both fall backwards. The teen gave her a cheerful smile.

"Hiya, Miss Peridot! It's nice to meet you, my name is Steven!" He said as he held out a chubby hand, Peridot grabbed it and rushed into the green room, she grabbed the chair the obsessive mobster had been on and locked it under the doorknob, she pushed her hip against the door as hard as she could for good measure. She didn't weigh much, Limone was to thank for that. The harpy of a woman always yelled at her for what she ate, so sometimes when they were together she just wouldn't to save herself the passive-aggressive comments. She gritted her teeth at the memories.

'Really? You're going to eat that?' 'Oh come on, you _ESPECIALLY_ shouldn't even be touching that!' 'Don't you ever take care of yourself? Knock it off with the candy crap!'

"Umm, Miss Peridot? Is something wrong?" Asked Steven, 17 years old and Peridot assumed he was the most innocent teen she'd ever met, "You look like you're about to cry..." Oh.

He slowly approached her as if she were a wild animal, he carefully sat down and gave her a patient smile. "Steven? How can you trust them? They're bad!" Said Peridot, exasperated that this child was even here. How could his parents approve of this?!

He nodded, showing wisdom beyond his years, "I... I know they do bad things. But they do it to stop even worse people, there are others out there, and really bad things are happening to them. Nobody tells me exactly what it is and we're all working to free them... But when I found Lapis, she was in really bad shape, they would send people in to beat her up." Peridot's eyes widened, how could people treat others like that? People had feelings and lives!

Steven continued, "Lapis was alone for a long time after we rescued her, and until she found you... She was a lot different. She really loves you, you're all she wants to talk about, that's how I know your name. But before you, she was..." Peridot tilted her head, she could hear the blue haired woman just downstairs calling her name pitifully.

"Please come out... I'm so, SO sorry."

"She felt unhappy?" The blonde asked, Steven shook his head slowly, he looked like he was trying to find the right words, his dark brown eyes lit up a bit, Peridot guessed he found them.

"It wasn't that she felt unhappy per se, it's that, well, I don't think she could feel very much of anything. You made her feel something, she wants to hold onto that. So please, Miss Peridot, she said you were super kind and patient, and she really regrets the bad stuff she does, so please give her a chance?"

Lapis knocked softly on the door, without hesitation, Peridot grabbed the chair and moved it out of the way. She pulled open the door, the blue haired woman was shaking ever so slightly. "Peridot I... I forgot that, um, that you're so good... Well- I mean- I didn't forget that, it's just... I'm nothing like you, I'm so used to all this that it's casual for me." Her dark blue eyes were pleading and Peridot knew she would regret this later.

"It's okay, I'm... Not mad. Can you uh, show me more things and I DON'T ask how much they cost?"

Lapis sniffed and hugged Peridot tightly, "Thank you Peri... Of course. Do you want to help me show her around Steven?" The boy smiled at Lapis brightly, Peridot was convinced he was 10% sunshine.

"I'd be delighted to."


	6. Chapter 6

Sheena leaned against the counter in the kitchen, she laughed to herself when she could hear Steven's excited voice calling for someone to 'come see my room!' She stretched her arms and yawned, last night had been a roller-coaster, between the call from Bismuth, and then the new girl Lapis had brought over. Sheena was worried, if this girl was a spy... She shuddered... no. Not with the way Lapis had described her.

The coffee machine slowly poured out her favourite beverage, she smiled. The dumb old machine was years old, it came from her old house. That was before she met Pearl years and years ago. Back when everything was so simple, but that wasn't to say she didn't like this life. It was thrilling, and with the Diamonds holding out to make their next move? It was like waiting for her birthday!

There was the sound of someone's stomach growling before a little voice spoke up from just outside of the huge kitchen. "S-sorry, I didn't really get the chance to eat much yesterday, guess I'm hungry." Said the voice, it was kind of nasally. It also wasn't familiar, Sheena realized it must have been the tiny girl Lapis had been cradling in her arms last night. She had seen the blue haired woman bring her up the stairs at around 12:30 that night, happily whispering to her and calling her all sorts of cute little nicknames. Steven started to laugh a little until Lapis spoke up.

"No darling, you don't have anything to be sorry for. You slept for a long time before I started your little tour. In fact, I'll show you the kitchen now so we can have lunch. Remember Peridot, I'll give you anything you want, all you have to do is say something, okay?" Well _THAT_ was new! The pink haired woman's eyes widened and she peeked around the corner to see Lapis gazing down sweetly at a tiny blonde woman. Oddly enough, she had changed in the last little while. Steven came rushing into the kitchen once he caught a glimpse of Sheena, he wrapped his arms around her waist in a tackle hug that nearly bowled her over.

"Sheena! Come meet Peridot!" He ran over from the short woman, and pointed over to the thief. "Miss Peridot, this is Sheena, I know you don't know this, but she looks like my mom! How funny is that?" Asked Steven, the words rushing out at the speed of a cheetah on the run. Peridot looked up at her, she held out her hand, what was with people and handshakes? She wanted to be as casual as humanly possible! Handshakes were _FORMAL_. But Sheena was many things, and not one of them was rude. She took the nervous girl's hand and shook it a little.

"Nice to meet you shorty." She spoke casually, but the tiny blonde growled at her. "Hey now, I call almost everyone short, don't take it too personally." She said, and Peridot seemed to calm a little before backing away a bit. So she was still intimidated by them. Good, that _MEANT_ something, most spies had no fear, and most were completely ready to die for their mission.

"I am not short, you're just tall. Clod." The pale woman murmured. Lapis laughed softly and placed a hand on Peridot's shoulder, the small blonde jumped a bit. She adjusted her glasses and gave a nervous giggle. Sheena could see the fear in her wide green eyes. _'At least she's handling it well...'_

"Alright princess, just tell me what you want. I can't cook but... Would you help Sheena? Peridot wants something to eat." Lapis' tone was unfamiliar to Sheena, she looked over at the blue haired woman. She was grinning down at Peridot the way a child would look on Christmas morning, joyous and filled with delight. It was unnerving to say the least.

Steven opened up the walk-in fridge, the teen was beaming. "You could try something from here." He said, the poor girl looked so overwhelmed by everything. Sheena decided to step in, it was the least she could do.

"What do you usually eat Tiny?" She asked, and laughed when Peridot growled, "I give everybody nicknames, Steven's Rosebud, Garnet is G-Squad, Jasper is Tiger... And Lapis is Water Witch." She added slyly and the girl glared daggers.

Said girl spoke up loudly from her spot against the dishwasher. "She likes Chinese, I saw it on her desk when I met her." Sheena raised an eyebrow, it seemed someone didn't like not being Peridot's center of attention, well, either that or she just wanted to make her point known. Time to test that theory.

"Oh, you like Chinese? Me too!" Said the pink haired woman, she took Peridot inside the fridge being careful to keep an eye on Lapis. "We have a ton of stuff, I'd love to make some for you Tiny." She said with a grin, and turned when she heard the _SNARL_. Lapis' face had twisted into an ugly display, the younger girl was seething. She was baring her teeth and Sheena could see the tip of a knife behind her back, the blue haired criminal looked like she had been sent straight from hell. Sheena didn't, _WOULDN'T_ let the little psycho know that _THAT_ was absolutely terrifying, "You too Lapis. You and Peridot should eat together."

The blue haired girl's gaze softened instantly and she put the knife on the counter silently before she walked over to them, there was a peaceful grin on her face. Theory tested, the result? NEVER DO THAT EVER AGAIN FOR AS LONG AS SHE LIVED. "That sounds amazing." Said Lapis, not a hint of anger lingering in her once menacing gaze.

There was somebody coming up the stairs, Amethyst ran up towards them. "Hey Steven! Guess what I just did?!" Her voice was filled with glee, Garnet walked in behind her. She looked a bit proud as she filled the coffee maker and gave them a small wave.

"What?" Asked the curly haired boy, and his lilac haired companion pointed over at Garnet. The dark skinned woman smiled down at the two as she grabbed her cup.

Amethyst placed one of her hands on Steven's shoulders. "Okay, but you have to promise not to pass out." She told him with a coy grin, the younger boy nodded vigorously and Sheena could hear Amethyst whisper, "I beat Garnet at Smash Bros!" Steven pretended to over-dramatically faint and Amethyst howled with laughter. Sheena glanced over from them to look up at Garnet.

"You let her win." Mouthed the pink haired girl. Garnet shrugged but Sheena could see the small smile she was trying to hide.

Garnet mouthed back at her. "I let her kick my ass every once in a while." She giggled until she felt a small hand tap her shoulder. The tall lady looked down and Peridot was standing there, she looked nervous.

"Umm, Sheena? Could you make rice and some pork please?" Lapis was standing behind the small blonde with a (frankly unnecessary) look that said 'Do it or I gut you like a fish'. Sheena nodded and grabbed the ingredients.

"Come on Peridot. I'll show you the table." Said Lapis as she led the nerdy girl out of the kitchen, Steven rushed downstairs to go play with Amethyst. Sheena heard the loud thump of a door from upstairs. She knew Pearl would be catching up on some very much needed sleep. So she guessed it was probably Jasper. She was right. She was getting incredibly good at guessing which gang member was near her.

The large woman walked into the kitchen with her phone in her hand, Peridot peered around the corner from the dining room. "Well, we made the city's virtual news again." She muttered a Sheena cooked the meat. Jasper handed the pink haired woman the small phone. There was a news article about a missing girl. She decided to read it out loud.

"Olive Odelet, 23 years old was reported missing at 5:55 am on November 1st. She is 5 feet tall, blonde with glasses, and was last seen heading into her home alone on October 31st at 9:00 pm. She was last seen wearing a green hoodie and black pants. There were no signs of a break in at her home or any criminal activity, as nothing was stolen." She heard Peridot scream a small 'uhh hello!' but continued on anyway. "If anyone has seen or heard from her, please visit the police station with the information or call the number below."

She finished and there was silence except for Amethyst and Steven downstairs playing video games. "Guess you're not going out for a while, Peri. Sorry." Said Lapis, who ruffled the shorter girls hair. Peridot looked up at the blue haired woman.

"Lapis, you said I could have anything I wanted, right?" She asked quietly, her voice somber, the two had gone back into the dining room but Sheena could still hear them talking.

"Of course my love. What do you want?" Lapis' voice was gentle like spring rain. "Don't be shy, you can tell me."

Sheena could hear Peridot stammering nervously. What was she so scared to say? Turning off the burner for the rice, she (and Jasper) looked over at the two women. Peridot seemed oddly guilty, Jasper looked at Sheena in confusion. _'Why would she be guilty? Lapis had her kidnapped!'_ She thought.

"Can I... When can I go home?"

At those words, the blue haired woman looked as if she'd been slapped. "B-but... This _IS_ your home now... You're safe here. The city's getting more and more dangerous and I couldn't live with myself if I knew you could be hurt or killed or worse." She spoke as sweetly as possible, but she looked so hurt. Sheena felt sympathy for her, she didn't seem to understand people very well.

"What's wrong with the city?" Asked Peridot, she seemed to be trying to keep any form of aggression out of her voice, but her eyes said 'Why can't I go?!'

Lapis bent down to her height. "There are people out there who do bad things, they fight with us constantly, and many innocent people are murdered or worse. They turn people into their pets, treat them cruelly, break them and force them to... Do things, things no human being should be forced to do just for entertainment or money. I hope you understand, you need to stay here. We're all scared because they haven't done anything for a while, we know they're planning something." She tried to explain best she could. Jasper closed her eyes, she stopped spying. After another moment so did Sheena.

"Lunch is ready."

TIME SKIP

POV CHANGE- Lapis Lazuli

She yawned and stretched her arms. She hadn't slept since yesterday morning, she had been far too excited for Peridot's arrival. It was only 2:00 in the afternoon, she watched sleepily as Amethyst, Steven and Peridot played games together. She was so happy they got along. Sheena sat on one of the couches with Garnet and Pearl.

"Hey Water Witch, why don't you go get some sleep? We'll watch Peridot for you." Said Sheena, Pearl nodded, her baby blue eyes held concern. The peach haired woman walked upstairs.

"You've been going non-stop since yesterday. It's about time you had a break." Said Garnet, Lapis hated it when the others were right. She stood up and walked over to the love of her life and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Peridot looked up at her, her eyes full of innocence.

"Peri-baby, I'm going upstairs to go sleep for a while. I'll be back down soon okay? Love you!" She watched as Peridot nodded. She didn't care if Peridot wasn't ready to say it back. It wasn't like Lapis expected her to. All she wanted was for the beautiful girl to be happy.

She could hear Jasper whispering to Pearl in the living room. "Come on. We _KNOW_ her. Lapis acts like she's interested in something, then when she gets bored she destroys it for kicks and giggles. The only difference is this time, it's a human being. Peridot won't last a week." Lapis rolled her eyes. Nobody understood her. Nobody except Peridot, she knew it, the little blonde had proven it when Lapis asked her to stay and she said yes.

She walked up to her room, and looked over at the bloody skirt and blouse in the corner. She'd wash them later, preferably when Peridot was fast asleep. She changed into her white tank top and black shorts and flopped down on her bed.

If her awakened mind was bad, her subconscious was the very definition of hell.

Suddenly she was 4 again, and her Mother was explaining that her birth parents had left her on the door step with a blanket and a note that read 'Crystal'. She didn't feel anything there. She didn't realize she should have.

Then she was 9, Crystal's Mother made her wear pink dresses constantly. She liked dresses. But she didn't want to wear them all the time. The other little girls didn't have to. Crystal hated the colour pink. But she didn't dare say anything. Her Mother didn't like that. She liked it when Crystal was quiet. Crystal learned that the hard way.

Crystal's Mother had been talking with someone in the doorway. The little girl had scraped her knee on the stair and wanted bandages. "Mother?" She asked and tugged the long black skirt. Why did adults get to chose what they liked and wanted?

Her Mother had whirled around and slapped the little brunette. "Don't you _EVER_ speak unless you are spoken to Crystal do you understand me?" Her voice had a flat effect to it. " _DO YOU?!_ " She shouted but Crystal didn't cry. She was starting to think she couldn't.

"Yes Mother." The lady at the front door just stood and watched.

Then she was 14. She had gotten good at pretending. She would laugh with the other girls when they did and looked sad along with them. But it wasn't perfect. It was either rushed or delayed. Mother did not like imperfect things. She didn't know why they did it. She never understood why she couldn't feel anything. But Crystal was starting to dislike it.

Sometimes she thought she could make herself feel. But when she tried the only thing that came up was anger. Why couldn't she speak when she wanted? Why did she have to wear those clothes?

'It's what good girls do.' Her Mother said. She never questioned it. That was bad. She couldn't be bad. She had to be perfect. For Mother.

Now Crystal was 19. She hated the mirror in her room. It stared and judged her. It reminded her that she wasn't perfect. That she wasn't capable of being loved. That was why her parents left her wasn't it? They knew.

For the first time Crystal felt something. Rage. It burned and it hurt but it was _GOOD_. She grabbed the hammer. Crystal had been making a bookshelf. She didn't want it. She didn't want anything. She wanted to be free. To feel. To understand.

Crystal's Mother had found her soon after. She was curled up in the corner. Laughing and giggling. The mirror was gone but it bit. The was blood coming up through her skin where the shards sliced. She won. She had the last laugh. It was gone now. No more mirror.

Her Mother had her held down. She knew pain now as one of the shards carved into her back. It made a teardrop shape. Crystal didn't cry though. But her Mother understood that... After all...

Blue Diamond couldn't feel anything either.


	7. BONUS DELETED SCENE

_**Scrapped idea of what was going to happen after Peridot found out that Lapis is a Mafia Girl.**_

She didn't think Lapis would be _THAT_ kind of criminal! Peridot looked around wildly, and jumped when she heard the blue haired girl calling out to her.

"Peridot? Where are you baby?" It occurred to the blonde that when she ran, Lapis hadn't turned around. She could run out the door and the pretty psycho would have no idea!

Peridot's heart stopped when she saw the pistol lying on a TV stand. She ran to it and looked, there were no bullets inside. The nerd tossed it back and, throwing caution and shoes to the wind, dashed out the door.

She was amazed to see the reason that the house had no windows. It had been built into a cave hidden inside of a cliff! The rocky floor was freezing and felt like freedom to Peridot's socked feet.

She ran across the beach, and ignored the pain as she sprinted over a gravel road. Her stomach was empty but Olive didn't care, she wanted to get away from _HER_. Her legs hurt but she kept running, away from that house and the evil, wolf-like woman who seemed to have some kind of strange obsession with her. She shuddered as she vividly remembered the warm hand brushing her cheek, the sweet sugary voice calling her treacly names… And Lapis leaning close to uncuff her, the blue haired woman was so close Olive could _SEE_ the faint freckles on her nose.

She reached her part of the city after a long while of running, and made her way through the crowds of people who pushed Olive and called her all sorts of rude things. She rushed to her apartment complex and took out her hair pin. She had lived in apartments almost all her life, and had locked herself out more times than she could count.

Olive picked the lock successfully and rushed inside. She locked the door behind her and ran to her bathroom. She had nothing in her to come up but it seemed her stomach had other plans.

She brushed her teeth and showered. Anything to get rid of the smell of Lapis' perfume, it smelled like the ocean and chlorine. A weird mix. Was it to cover the smell of blood?

She didn't bother trying to dry her blonde mane. She curled up on her couch and sobbed. Lapis was probably furious, she could imagine the blue haired woman screaming in rage.

She tried to make herself dinner, but soon discovered that she couldn't hold anything but water down. Olive wiped her tears away and sat on her bed. It was only 7:30 but she wanted to go to sleep and perhaps not awaken until Lapis was put in jail.

The next morning, Olive was awoken by the smell of maple syrup and fruit. She slowly opened her eyes and put on her glasses. She felt like she hadn't slept in days, the smell was getting stronger the more she woke up, was Limone trying to play some sort of cruel trick? She wanted to cover her ears just to spare herself the screaming.

Olive looked down at the foot of her bed and let out a blood curdling scream. "How did you get in my house?!" There she was, sitting at the foot of Olive's bed was Lapis. The blue haired woman was smiling patiently and holding a plate with a few pancakes on it. If Olive had been groggy, _THAT_ had snapped her awake!

The older girl laughed. "Oh sweetie… When I made you breakfast in bed, I expected to hear a thank you, not any of this 'How did you get in my house?' business." She spoke and when Olive tried to get up to run she leaned over and put a hand on the small girls chest to push her back down. Despite her looks Lapis was strong.

"Now now, none of that. You didn't eat anything at my house and I didn't see any evidence you really ate here at all yesterday so I'm guessing you're pretty hungry." Lapis said with all the sympathy in the world. The whole situation was so new to Olive, she was genuinely expecting to be yelled at, or hurt or killed. Lapis gently offered the fork to Olive, whose mouth was almost watering from the smell of food. "And don't worry, I'm not mad. You scared me when I couldn't find you though." She cooed. Olive shook her head, fear welling up inside her, why was Lapis being nice? Did she poison the food or something? The blue haired criminal seemed to sense her fears, she picked up a bit of dry pancake with the fork, (along with a strawberry from off to the side) and ate it. "If I wanted to poison you, would I do that? It's okay Peri, I would _NEVER_ hurt you…"

Lapis blushed after that, "See… I'm not the best cook. But I really hope you like it… Here, sit up to eat, I don't want you choking." Olive sat up and took a bite, it was a bit too sweet, but it was _SO_ much better than getting a single piece of bread and being dragged off to places she hated by a certain annoying blonde. "Do you like it?" Lapis asked, her cheeks were a light shade of pink. Olive was too clever to say a single damn negative comment. Instead she took the fork and plate from the tan woman.

"It's really good…" She said and the older girl's face lit up, but she didn't say anything. Olive ate until all of the food was gone, her eyes drooped a bit and she felt pleasantly sleepy, finally full after barely eating in days… But she was not falling asleep with this psycho less than three feet away.

Lapis didn't seem to like keeping her distance though. She scooped up Olive bridal style and cradled her tightly. The blonde squirmed with her rapidly fading energy. Lapis pressed her limbs down using one arm coupled with her side, forcing the small woman to stay down. The other hand massaged her shoulder gently, making her eyes flutter, "Peridot don't. You're nervous, if you squirm like that you'll upset your belly." She said before adding, "Just realx." She nuzzled the small woman's cheek.

The little blonde had to admit, she really missed people. As much as Lapis freaked her out… Being cuddled like this made her feel warm and safe. She had been so nice… Making Peridot breakfast… Her favorite too. How did she know…?

Peridot remembered what Lapis had said. The blue haired woman had been having her stalked! She slipped through Lapis' grip, but the nerd fell immediately. She rolled over onto her back, or at least tried her best to. Her legs wouldn't move, and she couldn't feel them. Peridot was rapidly losing feeling in her arms as well. She heard Lapis giggle.

"Okay baby, I guess I should tell you a little secret. There wasn't anything in the berries, or the pancakes… But the syrup? Well, it won't hurt you… It'll just make you not fight me when I bring you home." She chirped and picked up the limp woman. "Let's get you home, all safe and sound, you'll like that."

Peridot watched as Lapis carried her out through the open window, as her apartment complex slowly grew smaller and smaller. Her freedom growing smaller. She could hear Lapis' sweet voice lilting in her ears.

"Don't worry Peri-baby, I'll keep you safe in my house… Even if it means I have to keep you there forever."


	8. Chapter 7

_**AN: To anyone who thought Peridot would go down easy or that she was accepting her situation without a fight, let me ask you this: Have you ever heard of a daytime escape going over well? ;) There's a difference between taking it lying down and biding your time. As a follow up note, that last update wasn't canon at ALL.**_

Peridot had been smiling ever since she watched Lapis walk up the stairs. She was good at playing passive, and especially good at giving people the innocent eyes. She set her controller down and sighed as she played with the sleeves of the huge hoodie Lapis had given her. "Hmm... I'm kind of tired. Sheena? May I go to my room?" She lied to the tall woman, who nodded.

"Sure, but I gotta watch you go up. Lapis would throw a fit if she knew I didn't watch over you... And I wanna live to see 40." Said Sheena, and Peridot laughed nervously, would Sheena make her keep her door open? It wouldn't work if she did that! She needed to hide something!

"Can I borrow a book? I miss reading at home..." She said sadly, and that wasn't a lie. She loved reading, and missed her books at home. Sheena gave her a smile and started to lead her upstairs. She looked over at her lord and saviour known as the front door, her ticket home. She felt a bit guilty about leaving, if she was being perfectly honest. Amethyst was kind of nice, (she was a little rude, but then again she was a criminal) Steven was a very pleasant boy, (She actually liked him, even if he was out of his mind to want to stay with these people) Sheena was nice to her, (if not a little scary) and Garnet was... Nice? She gave Peridot a thumbs up whenever the small girl won the games they played so yes, she guessed she liked Garnet too.

It was strange, they were like a little family... A family of criminals... And they wanted Peridot to be a part of it even if she wouldn't join them in their work. They wanted to be her friend, or so she hoped, she hoped that it wasn't just Lapis forcing them to be nice.

Sheena tapped her on the shoulder, jolting her from her thoughts, "What do you want to read?" The curvy woman asked and Peridot had to think for a moment. What books tended to be long?

"Do you have any science-fiction?" Peridot asked and Sheena's face went into a deadpan. The pink haired woman sighed.

"Oh yay... Another nerd." She muttered to herself before heading into her room, she came out a few seconds later holding a large book. "You like mystery?" She asked, "Because I really don't feel like looking through all the sci-fi books Pearl has to find one you might like. Especially since she left a few minutes ago for a week long trip." Peridot nodded, the book was big enough so that she had an excuse to stay in her room until nighttime.

Who the hell was Pearl? Lapis had mentioned her as well, and while Peridot knew there was a chance this 'Pearl' had been downstairs with them, the blonde had tried to focus on the video game to keep herself calm. It wouldn't matter anymore, she'd be home by morning, and she would call Limone to ask why she had been in Peridot's house at 5:30 in the morning. And then take Limone's spare key away while telling her girlfriend to call the police.

TIME SKIP

Dinner had been uneventful. Peridot had kept her head down most of the time while the others talked around her. Her guilt was being an absolute dick. Reminding her that she would be hurting these people, whether it was through leaving after pretending to be their friend or through whatever Lapis would do after finding out the small woman had escaped. Speaking of the pretty psycho, where was she? How long had it been since she'd last slept? How long would she stay in her room for?

Peridot sat in her room now, her shoes sat hidden in the corner. She was ready to do this. She wanted to go home! She wanted to be far, FAR away from this place. Peridot sighed, she knew what would happen if she managed to get home. She would be Olive again. The sad little mechanic with no life and an awful girlfriend who did nothing but boss her around.

She'd go back to struggling for money with no support in sight. She would once again be plagued with memories of all the awful things her parents said to her before she had left with the only support there being her girlfriend's 'Well it's over now, so get over it.'

Peridot laughed to herself, she'd be running away from a house twice! The first from a once warm family that turned cold and chaotic before finally hating her for liking girls... The second? A family of criminals who were actually kind of nice... And a frankly beautiful woman who wanted nothing more then to show Peridot the kind of unconditional love the poor woman had been seeking for years... Peridot didn't want to finish that thought.

She looked at the little digital clock on her dresser, it read 11:30 pm, perfect. Peridot quietly set her book down on her bed. (She would miss the bed, it was warm and cozy) and listened. The only thing she could hear was snoring and the blonde grinned. Sure she'd feel bad for lying to Lapis, (She hated lying to anyone, no matter the situation) but that didn't matter!

' _Screw you guys, I'm outta here!'_ Her mind shouted and she wanted to laugh, Peridot was so excited for freedom yet terrified of the possibilities she was almost delirious. She held her hand over her mouth as she quivered, this was it! She slipped her shoes on slowly and walked down the carpeted stairs. It was almost pitch black, thank god her eyes had adjusted to the dark.

Peridot had just put her fingers on the doorknob before a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She screamed and started kicking her legs until she was lifted a bit more, the grip was almost crushing. "Peri-baby... What were you doing?" She heard Lapis' soft voice in her ears and went limp, she didn't want to be seen as fighting back.

"Lapis?! W-what-" She was cut off by the sound of Lapis giggling and she started to shake. She was in so much trouble wasn't she?

Lapis stopped laughing. "Oh darling, did I not tell you about the night watch?" She said, and there was a slight edge to her voice. "Every night, somebody watches the door to make sure nobody gets in... Or out." She said and backed away from the door.

Lapis set Peridot on the couch and stared down at her, her wide blue eyes unblinking. "Why were you trying to escape? Am I not good enough?" She said and tilted her head a bit. Peridot started to shake, she liked it _SO_ much more when Lapis was happy. She didn't know what the hell _THIS_ was, but it was terrifying.

"N-no..." Peridot stammered, Lapis looked rightfully confused.

"No... What?" She asked, her tone like a coiled spring waiting to snap free. Lapis crouched down to match the blonde woman's height, her silky pale blue nightgown fluttering a little as she did so. "What's the problem?"

"I-it's n-not you... I just w-wanted to go home..." She said, and in a single swift motion the blue haired woman picked her up and cradled Peridot in her arms.

"You told me you would stay... Were you lying to me?" She said and good _god_ her voice made Peridot's heart want to jump out of her chest. Lapis proceeded to carry her upstairs to the little green bedroom she had just been in. She set Peridot on her bed. "Take off your glasses along your shoes and socks and put them back where you found them. Be a good girl until I come back." She sounded a little angry, Peridot started to do as she was told. The blonde could feel fear building up inside her and she teared up as her lip started quivering.

Lapis came back about a minute later, in her hands was a key and the pair of handcuffs that Peridot had woken up in that day. She started to cry. "Now, now Peri. You've been bad, you lied to me. I don't like that and now you need to learn your lesson. This is your punishment, you will stay in these until I feel you can come out of them." The tan woman said as she gently grabbed one of Peridot's hands.

After a few moments, Peridot was once again handcuffed to her bed by one of her hands. It was her good hand, but that wasn't what bothered her, it was the way she was lying on her arm. It was incredibly painful but she knew that no matter how much she begged the most likely result would be nothing. She kept pleading anyway though, crying and sobbing when her words were met with silence.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She watched as Peridot squirmed and cried, begging for Lapis to take it off. The blue haired woman thought that she had been rather merciful in only trapping one hand, she had however, handcuffed the little blonde's right hand, which was her good one. Was that what she was upset about? Why did it matter, when she would be sleeping? Lapis wished she could understand people better.

Peridot was facing away from the door, she couldn't see Lapis now. The blue haired lady didn't understand why she had wanted to run away... Lapis wasn't good enough was she? She walked back to her room and tossed the handcuffs key onto her nightstand. She looked at her bed, no head-board or foot-board, the clothes she had decided to sleep in earlier had been thrown onto the end of it. She didn't feel comfortable wearing them, she wouldn't for a while... Not after having that... _Dream_... In them.

Lapis had left Peridot's door open. The little blonde was calling her name, no matter how disappointed she felt, she wouldn't take it out on the precious girl. It didn't matter how much she hated herself, she would always love Peridot so much more.

The blue haired criminal walked slowly into Peridot's room. She was sniffling as she laid there on her arm, "Lapis it hurts... It hurts so much." She whimpered, "You don't have to take it off but _please_ can you at least make it stop." The blonde begged, Lapis helped her move up closer, so that her arm wasn't so stretched out before she lifted the poor girls head.

"I'm going to put the pillow between your head and arm, okay?" She said softly, Lapis knew her little sweetheart couldn't see her, and she would hate for Peridot to be scared of her. The blue haired woman wanted Peridot to associate her with good things.

Peridot nodded, "Thank you-" She froze and let out a squeak when Lapis crawled into the bed next to her. The blue haired girl moved to Peridot's right side, making herself visible as she slid her arm underneath the little blonde. Lapis held her close to her chest and slowly ran her fingers through Peridot's fluffy hair. The pretty girl looked up at her with wide eyes. "W-why? Why are you doing this?"

"Don't be scared sweetie, I'm not mad at you. I need to keep you here, to make sure you stay safe and that nobody will ever hurt you." She whispered to Peridot who was still shaking a bit, she stroked Peridot's hair gently. "It doesn't matter what you do or say, I will _never_ stop loving you." She said softly and Peridot shivered, Lapis pulled the blanket up more. _'And it doesn't matter where you try and run, or how many times you do it. Because I love you and I'm NEVER letting you go.'_

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

It wasn't fair! How did Lapis know?! Peridot cleared her thoughts. No, Lapis wouldn't know that, no matter how much info she had on Peridot she would never know unless the blonde confessed.

Whenever she was little, if she had a bad dream she would run straight to her mother, who would snuggle Peridot tightly and softly stroke her hair to calm her down. That had been before her parents started fighting and she had missed it so much, as she got older her nightmares had only gotten worse.

Whether she liked it or not, (and she wasn't sure anymore) Lapis doing that still had an effect on her. Her breathing started to slow down, she was close enough to hear the taller woman's heartbeat.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered and Lapis smiled down at her, her other hand rubbed Peridot's back and the blonde let out an involuntary sigh. Peridot kept her one free arm tucked close to her body. "Lapis? Can I tell you a secret?" She asked... She didn't know why she was doing this.

Lapis' smile widened, "Why of course sweetheart. You can tell me anything..." The tan skinned girl said and Peridot nodded before she spoke again, slowly and quietly.

"Back when I was little... Littler I guess, and stop laughing. I would have really bad nightmares..." She said and Lapis held her closer, she tucked a bit of Peridot's hair behind her ear. Her dark nails tracing up the side of the small girls face for moment.

"Oh baby it's okay... If you ever feel scared you can come to me. Is that what you want?" She said, but when she opened up her mouth to speak again Peridot cut her off.

"Actually, that's... Not quite it. Back when I was... A _kid_ , again don't laugh, whenever I would have a nightmare, I would go to my mom. She always knew what to do to calm me down... She would hold me and... Do the _exact_ same thing you're doing." Peridot said as her voice trailed off. Lapis nodded and closed her eyes.

"I... I see. Am I bothering you? If I am, just say so and I'll stop." She told Peridot. The blonde scrunched her eyebrows, did it bother her? If she was honest that answer was a no, it didn't, at least not enough to make her uncomfortable...

Peridot poked her... What was Lapis to her? Stalker? No, she hadn't actually done it. Friend? Hell no! Whatever, she'd give her a title later. "N-no... It doesn't bug me... It's actually kind of... Soothing." Oh she was _so_ screwed!

"I'm glad. I'd hate for you to be upset, but you need to go to sleep now, okay?" She said and despite not wanting to, Peridot started to drift off. She couldn't help it, she was exhausted and being treated like this wasn't helping in the slightest. "Goodnight Peri, I love you..."

No way in hell would she ever say it back. After all, Olive still had a plan. Because Lapis couldn't guard that door every night... All she had to do was wait.

She put the pieces together, the mafia members took turns watching the door throughout the nights. When was Amethyst's turn?


	9. Chapter 8

Lapis stirred a little, her arm was a bit numb and she could feel something warm up against her stomach and chest, along with something wrapped around her side. The blue haired woman looked down and smiled as she started to blush. Peridot had snuggled up to her in the night, and had even wrapped her arm around the taller girl's waist. The small girl was simply adorable, the sight of her making Lapis sigh contently. What had she done to deserve finding this perfect human being?

Peridot was sleeping peacefully, there was a look of tranquillity on her face as her soft snoring made her chest slowly rise and fall. Lapis gently nuzzled her nose into the blondes cheek. "Oh, my precious sleeping beauty..." She whispered, "If I kiss you, will you wake up?" She smiled, though it quickly faded when Peridot made a small noise in her sleep. Lapis realized she had been talking almost directly into the smaller girls ear. Oops.

The little woman shifted a bit. "L..." Lapis' eyes widened, was Peridot going to say her name?! Her cheeks flushed a bright red, she could feel her heart start to flutter in her chest as well as a strange (but pleasant) floating sensation in her stomach. That is, until Peridot spoke again.

At first she whimpered a bit, before her timid voice became audible once again, "Limone...Stop...Please..." She murmured.

The bufferfly-ish feeling was now replaced with a dull ache, in an instant it turned into a burning fury. Who was Limone?! And what had she done to make Peridot, this sweet, kindhearted girl, have NIGHTMARES about her?! Her heart pounded in her chest and she started to bare her teeth. How DARE someone bring any sort of pain to this girl!

Peridot tightened her hold on Lapis' waist. The little blonde started to wake up, she groaned. She slowly opened her eyes, the younger woman brought her free arm down to rub at them before putting it back down. Peridot looked up at her and immediately flinched away best she could with a look of terror. There was a good reason Jasper's nickname for her (at least, one of them) was the Wolf.

"P-peridot! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" She tried to calm herself down, she wasn't used to having any emotions other than anger. Trying to control all of them when they were so new was much harder than it looked. "So I was thinking, I might have been a little harsh last night, because I THINK I figured out the problem."

The blonde was still shaking quite a bit. "Y... You did?" She asked, Lapis nodded. She gave her best smile and rubbed Peridot's back a bit and held her close. (She was so glad Peridot had trusted her with the information on how to calm her down)

"Yeah, I did. You're bored! Don't worry sweetheart, I get it. I would be too." She could feel Peridot start to shift around more, the girl was laying on her back now. She looked at her arm, which had returned to its position wrapped around the blue haired woman's waist. She gasped and pulled away quickly. Lapis giggled, "Aw, it's okay Peridot. I liked it."

Peridot seemed pretty confused. The blondes eyes narrowed for a moment, Lapis recognized that look, she was thinking. Lapis hoped it was good things, she yawned and sat up. The small woman looked up at her. "L-lapis? Can I come out of the handcuffs, please?" She said in a small, quivering voice. The blue haired woman nodded and walked into her room. She could hear Peridot start to whine, she must not have remembered Lapis having to put the key away.

She grabbed it and quickly walked back. Judging from the bedroom doors, Sheena was still sleeping, as was Jasper. Garnet was awake, but Pearl, as well as Amethyst had gone to their districts. "It's okay my love! I'm right here, but you need to stay still." She said to the blonde girl, who stopped trying to shift around. Peridot looked at her best she could.

"Lapis... I can't really feel my arm." She said, and Lapis understood. The poor thing had been laying on it, and had probably cut off some circulation. She nodded and moved the pillow away. The second she had unlocked it, Peridot brought her arm up to her chest. She started moving it a bit, and tried to flex her fingers. Lapis sighed and held out her hand, Peridot stared at her bewildered.

"Just give me your arm. I'm not gonna hurt you, although it's gonna feel weird if I'm being honest." She told her. Rose had used it a long time ago when she had found Lapis in a ditch half-dead after freeing her. Peridot placed her pale hand in Lapis' tan one and the blue haired criminal blushed. She pointed the girls arm downwards and lightly started squeezing it from the shoulder down to Peridot's fingertips.

"You're right, i-it feels weird. But... Thanks." She said quietly. "I can feel it again mostly." Lapis let her arm go, she flexed it a bit and smiled. Lapis bent down below her height just a little to look up at her.

"Tell me... Do you like ice cream?" She asked. She knew it wasn't really the time for it, but she wanted to treat the small woman. Peridot had the reaction she was expecting, a raised eyebrow and tilted head. _'Confusion, that's what that means.'_ Lapis reminded herself, she was good at reading peoples body language, but for quite a while she hadn't bothered. She didn't care about how the others felt, but with Peridot that skill was crucial. "Look, I know it's November now, but you deserve nice things." She said, but the Greek woman shook her head.

"T-that's not it, we just woke up. We haven't even had breakfast, and nothing would be open." She said. Lapis smiled and pulled her phone from the dresser counter. It was 9:30, not many stores would be open, but all she had to do was make a quick call and she could get in.

She showed Peridot her phone, and the little blonde nodded. Lapis smiled. "This can be your breakfast, and if a place isn't open I can just force them." Peridot seemed to shrink on the spot. "I won't hurt anyone, I'll just tell them what you and I want. They scare easily."

The small blonde sat perfectly still for a moment before giving a tiny nod. Lapis smiled again, and sat down beside her. "Y-you promise you won't hurt anyone?" Peridot asked, the blue haired girl nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetie, if hurting people makes you upset, I'll try not to. But you need to understand that my job sometimes demands it... And I'd destroy anything that tries to hurt you. But... You won't have to see it, if I push you behind me when I get upset with someone, cover your ears okay?" She saw Peridot look at her frightfully. Lapis wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. "I promise I won't hurt the people we see when we go to eat though... And that you will never have to hurt anybody, nor should any harm come to you, I'll protect you." She spoke softly and she could feel Peridot shiver. "Because for you Sweetheart? Anything."

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She sighed and closed her door when Lapis left the room to change. The girl had a surprising amount of respect for Peridot; she wasn't pushy about affection, as she had made it clear that if Peridot ever felt uncomfortable to tell her. She also respected the blondes privacy, when she told the blue haired woman she wanted to change she had immediately gotten up and left.

"Funny." Peridot muttered to herself, "The woman's on her own planet but she's STILL been nicer to me than almost anyone!" She chuckled, "Man is she in for the shock of her life..." All Peridot needed to do was peek downstairs each night to see who was guarding the door. She had heard Jasper muttering about Amethyst sleeping on the job yesterday. Come to think of it... Were the two sisters? They certainly looked similar, although Jasper was a little darker and her hair was lighter. Oh well, that wouldn't matter soon...

She heard a soft knock on her door. "Peri? Are you done yet? I found a place." It was Lapis, of course it was who else would it be? "It's right near where Pearl is, so you can meet her." The pretty psycho's voice was filled with delight, as if she wasn't talking to the woman who had been kidnapped for her, but a shrinking violet of a girlfriend who was timid around new people.

The scary part was... That was just it. (Not the girlfriend part! God no! Never!) Whenever Limone had brought Peridot out to be somewhere with her friends, she would tease the little blonde mercilessly and embarrass or humiliate her in front of them. Her girlfriend would make little comments at her about the things she liked, or her fears, or about her weight right in front of them, making her friends snicker take even more jabs at her under their breaths... So no. She didn't like meeting people.

She pulled on a dark green long sleeved shirt, along with black jeans. "I'm dressed... You can come in." She muttered and Lapis opened the door cautiously, the woman's dark blue eyes were filled with concern.

"Baby? Why do you sound sad? Was it your nightmare?" She asked, and Peridot tilted her head, how did she know about that? "You talk in your sleep... Who is Limone?" She sounded peaceful at first... But then her voice became tight and strained.

Peridot backed away, she hated it when this woman got angry. It was sudden, and she didn't seem to know how to control it. But when the blonde had stepped away her eyes had softened. "It's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to-"

"My girlfriend." Peridot cut her off, and immediately regretted it. Lapis went completely still for a moment, before her gaze filled with a look that Peridot had only ever seen on TV before. Psychopathy. Her frown twisted into a sickeningly sweet smile, showing her perfect (sharp!) teeth. Her blue eyes looked soulless.

She gave a soft chuckle before her, "This woman... You have nightmares about her? Peridot... She is _NOT_ your girlfriend. Not anymore." She took a deep, shuddering breath and Peridot briefly broke her stance on religion to thank god that there were no sharp objects in the room. "What did she do to you?" Peridot started to shake.

"L-l-lapis? P-please... C-calm down... You... You're scaring me." She whimpered, "I-I don't wanna talk about it right now..." Lapis closed her eyes and pulled Peridot into a gentle hug. She was still shaking, the blue haired criminal rubbed little circles into her back.

The tiny woman had to admit, despite being psychotic this woman knew how to be soothing when she needed to be. "Shh... Oh, Peri-baby I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to scare you like that, I just don't like it when people hurt you, that's all... She isn't gonna hurt you anymore. I promise." She ran her fingers through Peridot's hair (why did she have to tell her about that?!) gently and cooed little things like 'I'm here.' and 'You're safe with me.'

Peridot relaxed in her arms. She didn't know if that was the scariest part.

TIME SKIP

Peridot had been shocked to learn that the house she had been in was underground! It had been built in a massive cave inside of the beach cliffs. It was astonishing as well as somewhat creepy. At least that explained why there were no windows.

She was now sitting in Lapis' car, (which she had done an AMAZING job on!) looking out the tinted window, the radio wasn't on leaving the two in a deafening silence. One was happy as could be and the other was Peridot. "So, what do you like? I don't mean ice cream, I already know what you eat. I mean... In general." She heard the blue haired girl ask.

"I don't know... I can't answer that when someone asks me." She responded, and sighed, as long as she was stuck with this woman she might as well entertain her little fantasy of the two of them getting along. "Ask me specifically. I mean, I like green, camping romantic dramas, and technology... But that's the most I can think up on the spot."

Lapis blushed a little, clearly in bliss that Peridot wanted to talk to her. "O-okay... Favourite genre of music?"

Oh, so she wanted to turn on the radio? Sure! "Techno... Or rock. But I'm open to stuff, I'm not picky, hell most of the time I just listen to whatever sounds nice to me." Lapis grinned and nodded. She turned the radio on and a rock song came through the speakers, Peridot had to admit, this was an awesome car. (even if it only had two seats)

"Sheena told me you like books. What kind?" She asked and Peridot shrugged.

"Mostly science fiction." Lapis giggled, alright so maybe the blonde was a little bit geeky. "Mystery too, though. I have one in my room."

The blue haired woman smiled at her when they reached a stop light. They had been driving for a little while now, and the scenery seemed to have shifted. What was once quiet streets filled with teeny apartment complexes and stores was now luxurious houses with large gardens, everything here screamed 'I am too good for you peasants! Now bow before the people who get everything they want!'.

"This is where Pearl works. She won't be joining us just yet because she has work to do. She sells... Things to these people." The girl beside her explained. Peridot nodded quietly, she still didn't like the thought of these people doing such things. "I don't like it here either." Lapis said softly, as if she didn't want to admit it.

Peridot's eyes narrowed as she looked over at her. "Are you... Speaking from experience? Did you live here?" She asked, it was only fair after all, Lapis had been asking questions too.

"No... Not here. Somewhere else far from here, in Hawaii, where I was born. My..." Peridot heard a deep growl come from the blue haired woman. "The woman who raised me, she found me there. She was a lot like these people. But she was cruel, she forced me to be 'girly' and passive until I couldn't take it anymore..." Her breathing went funny and her grip on the steering wheel tightened making Peridot's heart jolt. "Just to keep 'her baby' close she locked me away and tortured me for 3 years... Until I became _ME_."

' _So you went from girly and passive to crazy and possessive because your mother was probably just as bad. Fucking lovely.'_ The blonde thought to herself before she frowned, Lapis had been somebody's prisoner too, and her captor had been the woman who raised her... _'Although... In your defence... Nobody deserves to be treated like that, to be locked away and beaten.'_ She thought, remembering what Steven had told her. Sure Lapis was insane, but at least now Peridot had an idea of WHY... And, if she was being honest, she felt pity.

And yes, the blue haired girl had captured her... But so far the most she had really done was scare the small woman by accident. Peridot sighed, because she understood a little better now, Lapis was a creature of instinct and was driven by memory, not logic. The reason she was keeping the blonde was because she had been taught that THAT was what you did to make sure someone you wanted would stay.

Lapis had perked up rather quickly though, she parked right outside of a somewhat large building. "Well, anyway, that's enough talking about my caretaker and HER... Come on Peridot!" She said with a smile as she got out of the silver car. With a fright, the blonde realized that she barely knew the city, and had absolutely no clue where they were or what the people here were like. She scrambled out after Lapis and quickly followed behind her.

"S-so... What are we doing? Are we going to get it and leave?" She asked, the Hawaiian woman just shook her head and kept looking forward, but the blonde noticed that her cheeks were tinted pink. Peridot felt something brush her fingers lightly. She looked down at them and her eyes widened.

The blue haired girl was gently pawing at her hand, and Peridot blushed. Lapis, a cold-blooded, desensitized-to-violence murderess, was shyly asking in her own little way... If she could hold some tiny nerd's hand. Peridot reached out a little and grabbed her hand. Lapis stiffened a bit and her face flushed red. She made a small noise as if her breath caught in her throat right before her hand started to sweat a little and her breathing became quick and shallow.

Peridot smirked as she thought to herself, _'Aww, what's the matter? Flustered? Scared you're gonna do something wrong? Feel like you're gonna puke because you're so nervous? Good to know I terrify you and make you feel sick. Serves you right for ripping me away from my home.'_

All her life Peridot knew for a fact that, no matter how much she denied it, she was cute. Though she hated doing it, she knew exactly how to charm people into letting her have her way. Now however... Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Of course, she didn't know how she could use it at the moment... But the Greek woman was clever! (Top of all her classes! Graduated early!)

Lapis led her over to a small table. "And now we wait for them. You... DO like mint right?" She asked, looking nervous. Peridot nodded, and the blue haired girl relaxed. "Good, I don't really care for it myself, but if you want to try some of mine that's okay. Oh and if you want anymore, all you have to do is ask."

An extremely nervous looking woman came out of the shop carrying two small bowls. She set them down in front of the two and looked at Lapis. The mobster just stared back at her, "You can go now." She said without any sort of emotion and the woman ran back inside.

Peridot started eating and she had to admit, it was good! She'd hadn't had ice cream in so long, ever since she lived in Canada. First she had lived in Greece as a child, then Canada... After that it had been the streets when she ran away, she had managed to get into America undetected, then Yellow Diamond had found her and gave her the apartment. And then this pretty psycho had her kidnapped.

"Do you like it?" Lapis' voice snapped her out of her thoughts, she nodded and the taller girl grinned. "I'm so glad you do. If you want we can come back anytime." Peridot gave her a small smile before looking at Lapis' food.

"Chocolate?" She asked and Lapis nodded shyly.

"Well... I like chocolate... And I've never really had much ice cream before. Before you came along I kind of just stayed in my room or did my job at our bar. I didn't do anything just for fun or pleasure." She explained. "Except drinking. But we're only allowed that once a month. Or was it twice?" Peridot had never drank before in her life, but she had seen her fair share of drunk people... What would Lapis be like? Happy or... Angry? "Oh I'm sorry. I never offered, would you wanna try mine? It's German."

Peridot's eyes widened, but she needed this girl to trust her enough to leave her be without suspicion. She needed something, so taking a breath to calm herself down she reached out with her spoon. But Lapis moved the bowl away. "Sweetie, um, I really don't like mint... I'd prefer if you didn't get any into my food. I'm sorry, but if you do want some, just hang on a second." She said gently, and grabbed her own spoon and put some ice cream on it. She held it out to Peridot. "It's okay, you can eat off it, I'm not sick."

' _Not physically.'_ The blonde thought. But she leaned forward and ate. It was good, she wasn't going to lie, she smiled and Lapis' eyes lit up.

"Do you like it my love?" She asked cheerfully, and Peridot answered with a little nod. She had learned last night that Lapis liked it much better when the blonde was honest with her. "I was kind of worried you wouldn't." She said, suddenly a little bashful. "I mean, I know a lot about what you like... But... I really want to impress you."

Something was off here. Something wasn't quite clicking right with this woman, and it wasn't the odd psychotic obsession with the tiny girl. Was she... Scared of something? Of what? Imperfection?

"Lapis? I need something." She said, the taller girl leaned in a bit, her dark blue gaze was inquisitive and Peridot's heart thumped at the sudden closeness.

"Yeah princess, anything. I'll give you whatever you want or need."

Peridot gave her a shy little smile, playing up her adorable charms. "Well... I have a book in my room that I want to read... But I don't have a bookmark, can you-" She didn't even have time to finish her sentence before Lapis nodded vigorously.

"Of course Peri! We have some at home, come on." She said and stood up. "Just leave your stuff, they don't care." She told the smaller girl. Peridot walked beside her, the reason she needed the bookmark was to make a list to keep track of who was on night watch without anyone finding out about the list.

She would narrow it down to when Amethyst had to watch the door. She would be free within a week.

TIME SKIP

It was late at night, Lapis had driven her back to the house immediately and handed her a pure white bookmark. Peridot was thankful that the blue haired woman trusted her enough to let her sit in her room by herself., and had even let her eat lunch and dinner She had Lapis' name written down at the top of the bookmark.

The blonde quietly crept out of her room, she snuck down the stairs... It didn't seem like there was anyone down here.

"Peridot? What are you doing up?" She jumped when she heard Garnet's voice, the tall woman was sitting on the arm of the couch. She was mostly hidden by part of the wall, only her legs were showing, and they were barely visible in the dark.

"Um, I just wanted some water." She said, "H-how did you know it was me? You couldn't see me."

She heard Garnet laugh softly, Peridot kind of liked her, she was pleasant, just like Sheena or Amethyst or Steven. And sometimes like Lapis. "I could tell by your footsteps. Pearl goes down the stairs quietly but gracefully, Amethyst and Jasper go down them loudly, with Amethyst often sliding down the railing, Sheena is the normal one. You and Lapis are the same, but your doors are at opposite ends of the hall. Therefore it was you."

Peridot gave a small chuckle, she wasn't scared of Garnet. "Sherlock? Where's Watson?" She heard the British woman start snickering.

"Very funny. Now grab the water and get some sleep. Lapis would not be pleased to find out that you're not resting." She spoke quietly and Peridot was confused. She wasn't sick, why did she need to rest?

She heard Garnet speak once again. "She would be upset to know you could be uncomfortable in any way. She cares about you... I don't know why, no offence to you, but Lapis has never shown concern over anyone. This is new for her, she wants to love you, but she won't force you to love her back. You have nothing to fear."

Peridot smiled, but her thoughts immediately screamed _'Oh yes, I feel sooo safe!'_ She grabbed a bottle of water and hurried back up the stairs. The blonde sighed as she wrote down Garnet's name onto her bookmark. "Two down, hopefully no more to go."

POV SHIFT- Crystal Diamond- Years ago...

Her room was dark, it must have been nighttime, either that or the clouds were outside thick. Of course, the window in her cell was too high up to see out of... Not that it really mattered, she hadn't seen the sky or the outside world in so long... Time no longer mattered.

Crystal (god she hated her name with a burning fury) shifted a bit where she was laying on the floor. It was cold and hard, she had little clothing on to protect herself. One of the only noises she could hear were the inhumane howls and screams of the other 'people' in the building. Unlike her, they were in cages, they weren't alone, and they had lights in the rooms they were being kept in. That and the footsteps of the guards.

The other noise was her chains scraping against the stone floor whenever she moved her arms or legs. Crystal had been in here for so long now, her last memory of the outside world was Blue Diamond carving into her back... Making her into a flawed freak. When the brunette had woken up she was shackled to the wall. The only people she saw now were the guards that came in to feed her, (that she occasionally killed should they have gotten within her range) and the woman in the room across from hers if their doors were open at the same time.

Lapis had known this woman all her life. Jessibelle was in there, she was a buff woman with bright amber eyes. (A very ironic name for someone who wasn't lady-like at all) She was forced to fight other, weaker pets (because that's what they were to the Diamonds) to the death, and while it made her extremely aggressive, it made the woman proud that even after all of her fights were over, she had no marks or scars other then the ones Pink Diamond had cut into her nose.

She started to giggle at the memory of the first time she had been brought out of her cell. She had scratched and bitten at the grown men who tried to go near her. They had called in three more men and managed to catch her after her little game of 'how much does it take to make a group of grown men cry?' and dragged her to The Back Room.

She had fought them the entire way there, she knew what went on in that Room. Innocent people were broken in there. She had screamed insults at them, told them what she would do if she hadn't been restrained. They didn't listen, instead they had simply dumped her onto the floor of a large cage and ran out before Crystal could shred them. There was a small crowd watching her, studying her movements carefully.

They had backed away a bit when she reached her arm through the bars of the cage and swiped at them. She was smiling as she clawed at them. Not many people wanted her after that. When the bidding started almost nobody spoke. Sure she was beautiful, but nobody seemed to want to spend time with the brown haired psycho.

One man however, had been brave. The guards allowed him to step into the cage with her. Crystal stood rigidly, this man was not going to like the little surprise she had in store. When he approached she had snarled and rushed forward, snapping her teeth down on his neck. People started to scream, 'She's insane!' 'Get him out of there before she kills him!'

She ripped and tore, giggling when a warm red liquid poured down her front, she distinctly remembered one person fainting after that. From that day forward, she wasn't allowed to be bid on. She just had to watch.

Crystal moved around again, she was laying on her side now, her arms under her chin as she stared at her door. A boy came around a while ago. He was young and free-spirited. His name was Steven, he had brought her some nice food, and even something to eat with. Apparently his mother was Rose Quartz, the powerful woman who served under Pink Diamond. He had made her a promise, that he and his mother would free her, as they had to a few others.

Crystal's mind was starting to unravel, and she knew it. Two sides of her were fighting, and she was losing the battle against someone she didn't know. It was her, but different. She could feel something stirring in her mind, an instinct? Or possibly... A need? She wanted something, no someone, that was pure. A beautiful light that would save her from this dark place, someone she could hold, protect and care for. Someone to love.

She got the feeling she would kill just to have it.

Crystal rolled over, and with a small smile she gazed up at the blue diamond painted on the ceiling, the symbol of the woman who kept her here. She now remembered her talk with Steven, he had given her a new name. Lapis Lazuli. The burning desire in her mind flared as she whispered up at the dark ceiling.

"I am Lapis Lazuli, and you won't keep me here anymore."


	10. Chapter 9

_**AN: I need you guys to know something right now. There are two characters in this chapter who are part of the last episode of the newest StevenBomb. I watched it early due to not having TV, but if you haven't seen it I would suggest watching one of the 'That Will Be All' clips featuring Amethyst. Comment if you like the chapter and remember to support the show!**_

Jasper sat on the couch in the dark living room, watching and listening for anything unusual. If anyone had seen her, the only things they would have seen would be her long white hair and brilliant amber eyes. She didn't have a single mark or scar on her dark tan skin other then the ones that... That woman had given her on her nose.

She hated watch duty, and felt awful that Amethyst would be on watch next so soon after her last one. (And although she would never admit to it, she missed her little sister.) The last time the purple haired girl had been on night-watch duty (the day Lapis finally got that little nerd) she had fallen asleep.

Jasper yawned a bit as she grabbed her gun and started to polish it. The white haired woman smiled as she gaze fell to the 'J+B' carved into it. Her girlfriend had made it for her right before Jasper had been forced to leave her behind lest she be caught by the Diamond Authority and hauled back to their horrid facilities. God she missed Bismuth so much... Everyday she regretted not finding her in time to leave Homeworld...

She stiffened when she heard a door open. Who the hell was awake (besides her) at almost 1 in the morning?! She heard little footsteps and peered at the woman slipping down. Oh, Lapis' plaything, of course. What in the hell did Lapis find attractive about her? The blonde was pathetically small, and appeared completely harmless, Jasper knew for a fact that Lapis was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, no matter how much she denied it.

Peridot was wearing a simple dark green t-shirt and black shorts, her square glasses were a bit too big for her face, she looked like your average nerd. Not to mention the brat's voice was shrill, and she was jumpy, Jasper had no clue in the world what could have made Lazuli fall in love with her (Read: Jump off the deep end) and threaten her co-workers if they could POSSIBLY so much as be rude to her.

"Look kid, if you're trying to escape don't do it on my watch." She said and the small woman jumped, clearly she hadn't seen the buff woman. "Laz'll freak because I 'must have let you out' because I don't sleep on the job. Ever." She explained and Peridot nodded. "So do yourself a favour. Go. Back. To. Bed." The buff woman didn't even bother trying to be nice to the little brat. Not after waking her up the other night with her incessant crying. _'Oh boo-hoo, so you're in a mafia house, so what?_ _You're being pampered and coddled by one of the richest women in the entire state of Delmarva, get over it already! Ungrateful little brat.'_

Peridot shuffled her feet and played with her necklace nervously, "I'm hungry..." She muttered. The Hispanic woman rolled her eyes and gave a long sigh, she didn't get paid enough to start playing babysitter to Lapis' new toy. "I just want something small, please?" She said, her voice was quiet, almost begging. Jasper stood up and walked into the kitchen, she yanked the freezer open. The blonde just stood there watching her as if she expected something to happen.

"Well? Grab something. I'm not Lapis, I'm not gonna cater to your every whim." She snapped and Peridot nodded quickly, she grabbed a popsicle and ran back up the stairs after muttering a quick and shaky thank you.

Jasper sighed, that kid would be dead by the end of the month.

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

There was a small knock on her door. Peridot groaned, she was so tired, it had taken so long for her to fall to sleep last night. She wanted to go home so badly... She missed her apartment, even if it was cramped and had irritating neighbours, it was her home. There was another knock on her door, a little louder this time, (or maybe she was just more awake now) followed by Lapis' sugar sweet voice.

"Princess, can I come in?" She asked, and Peridot tried to say something in reply, but her voice came out as a broken creak, her throat ached. Lapis opened the door, her face filled with worry. "Are you okay Peri?" She asked, and the small girl nodded. Lapis walked in with a tray holding some food and a glass of pink lemonade, she set it down on the side of the bed.

"M-my... My throat hurts." Peridot croaked, and the blue haired girl nodded, she stroked the side of the blonde's face and her deep blue eyes were filled with sympathy.

She grabbed the glass and handed it to Peridot. "My poor angel... Here drink this, it should help." She said gently, the Greek woman sat up and downed almost the whole thing. It tasted sweet and pleasant, she smiled at Lapis and thanked her, making the taller girl blush. "I'm glad you like it, although I hope you're not getting sick sweetie, it'd break my heart to see you unhappy." Peridot shook her head.

"No, I'm not sick, I just couldn't sleep last night. If that happens my throat hurts the next morning." The blonde explained, but it only served to make the Hawaiian girl more worried.

"Why couldn't you sleep? Is it too cold in here? Is your bed okay, because I coul-" Peridot cut her off mid-sentence and put a hand on her arm.

She watched Lapis' gaze flick down to the hand on her arm, the taller girl blushed a bright red. "Listen to me please?" Peridot asked, and she looked up, nodding silently. "Sometimes it's just hard for me to sleep. The bed is nice, better than the one I have at home." She explained, and Lapis gave a small smile. "However, the room is a bit cold."

The blue haired woman's smile only grew. "Oh don't worry baby, I can fix that!" She said cheerfully before walking quickly out of the room, only to return a few moments later with a somewhat small dark blue blanket. "Here we are. We didn't use heat in your room until recently so you can use this blanket until it's warm enough. But if you want to you can keep it." She said, and placed it over Peridot. The Greek girl gave a happy sigh, being tired was making her stupid, it also made everything soft and warm to her. She sniffed at the air, remembering that Lapis had brought food, her stomach growled.

The criminal giggled softly and clicked her tongue. "Aww, someone's hungry." She cooed and Peridot blushed a bit, everything was so different with Lapis. If that had happened with Limone, the pretty blonde would have just rolled her eyes at Peridot. "Garnet and I made breakfast. Well, it was mostly Garnet. I just help set things up." She said with a small chuckle before Peridot sat up again. Lapis placed the tray in her lap, smiling when Peridot's eyes lit up upon seeing the chocolate chip pancakes, her favourite as a breakfast in bed!

Peridot tried to fight back a dark thought that was rising in the back of her mind, but it came through anyway. _'You will miss this when it's over.'_

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Amethyst Prather

She laughed as she heard Skinny curse loudly. Amethyst poked her head around the wall of the abandoned elementary school and smiled when she saw her two most trusted partners playing basketball on the former school's cracked pavement and rusty metal poles and hoops. The sun was low in the sky, casting an orange glow over the whole place, making it look like the trees were on fire, it was awesome.

Skinny was just the woman's nickname of course, (hell, Amethyst was just a nickname, her old name had been Violet) she was tall and about as thin as the poles her and Carnelian were goofing off around. She was like her sister Jasper in a way, her hair was short but it was fluffy and white. She had amber eyes too, as well as an 'I'm better than you because I'm me.' sort of attitude. But that was where the similarities ended. They were physical opposites of each other, Skinny had many scars on her body from where Pink Diamond had burned her while trying to mark her (Skinny had been one of Pink's early pets) and her marking was different. When Pink had knocked her out she burned the poor woman's stomach.

Her girlfriend however, was very different. Carnelian was like Amethyst, short and chubby, which was a little funny when compared to Skinny. Although to the purple haired woman's dismay Carnelian, or Carny as she was sometimes called, was a bit taller than her. The girl was wild and somewhat reckless, she may have also been a little crazy (in a good way) but she was funny as well as fun-loving. Her hair was a constant chaotic mess of dark red, much like Amethyst's, but her bangs stuck up a bit oddly.

Her mark was on her shoulder, and it had been cut in by Blue Diamond to show Pink how to do it. She watched her girlfriend play with glee, the two loved it here, the slums were a sacred place for people like them.

She called out to the two of them, "Hey guys! I'm gonna go now, watch the place for me!" She shouted and they nodded in unison.

"Yes Boss!" Said Carnelian, Skinny gave her a thumbs up and a teasing smile.

"Have fun on night watch duty Boss." She said with a laugh. Amethyst stuck her tongue out at the Latina and flipped her off. She loved those two, the people who worked for her were like one big family. All she needed to do was free the rest of them from the Diamonds.

TIME SKIP

"Amethyst!" The short woman heard the second she walked into the house. She looked over towards the source of the noise, it was Peridot, sitting there with Lapis cuddling the small woman. Amethyst raised an eyebrow, what the hell Lapis' deal with this girl? Sure she was kinda nice, but she'd known Lapis for years, and she had never smiled, except for when she was drunk off her ass. In which case she just giggled at everything.

Still, whatever the cause, a Happy Lappy was infinitely better than her usual S.S Misery. Even if it was creepy and obsessive sometimes.

"H-hey Amethyst, hi!" She called and waved, like she was trying to get the purple haired girls attention. Lapis glared at her a little bit. "Where were you?" Peridot asked and the Hispanic girl simply shrugged.

"My District. Y'know, the Slums of the city?" She said nonchalantly and the blonde looked confused. "Right, right, you're still kinda new in town. Hang on, I'll show you." She explained as she pulled out her phone, the screen had a huge crack right through the middle of it. It was a shame, she liked that phone, oh well. She could get a new one tomorrow.

Lapis spoke up from her spot on the couch, Peridot was being held tightly in her arms, like she was jealous that someone else had her attention. "Come here and show her. We just got comfortable."

Amethyst rolled her eyes a little, she thought to herself, _'I'll be shocked if she's EVER comfortable near you.'_ But she bit her tongue and walked over to them. "Here's where I live, and yeah before you ask, it's a school. Well, WAS a school, they don't use it anymore." She said, scrolling through all of the pictures of her home, like the garbage dump. "This place is epic. Its got all kinds of weird stuff in it! Can't miss it either, it's like the first thing you see if you go straight west from here." She explained, and Peridot nodded.

"I... I see." She sounded a little disgusted. Amethyst shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket. Honestly! People these days, missing the value of a cool garbage dump, how sad!

She sat down on the arm of a chair and sighed, watching the house through the night was going to suck. Peridot yawned softly, and she heard Lapis start talking in the most disgustingly sweet voice Amethyst had ever heard. "What's the matter baby, are you tired?" She asked. The blonde nodded a little, she looked like she was thinking about something. "Alright, come on, let's get you to bed, you didn't sleep well last night anyway."

Peridot wiggled and squirmed, clearly wanting free from almost being in the psycho's lap. Once Lapis let her go Amethyst watched as the two walked up the stairs. "Good night Lapis." Said Peridot, and the blue haired girl's face brightened from being acknowledged by the woman who had no criminal history, but had stolen her heart.

Although... If Amethyst was being honest, it looked like Peridot desperately wanted nothing more than to give it back.

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Peridot(?) Odelet

It was three in the morning, she had slept for a little while, but Peridot was surprisingly good at waking herself up. She slowly crept out of her room and walked down the stairs. Her heart filled with joy when she saw Amethyst snoring somewhat loudly on the couch.

Sure she felt guilty about leaving (for some reason) but she kept that feeling pushed down as she silently slipped on her shoes. The Greek girl stared at the front door and took a deep breath. She looked at her necklace and rubbed her thumb over the heart shaped peridot in it, she had decided that she would keep the necklace, she liked it.

"Goodbye Lapis... Thanks for everything..." Peridot whispered. _'I'm sorry...'_

And with that, she was out the door, running through the cavern like she had all of the worlds winds behind her. The city sky was filled with stars and there was a huge full moon out, it was gorgeous! It was rather chilly out, but Peridot barely felt it as she ran up the gravel pathway.

Peridot learned very quickly that Beach City was not a friendly place at night.

It was dark and eerie, she never went outside at night, so she'd had no clue. During the day the streets were filled with life, but now? It (coupled with what Lapis had told her) made her quite aware that there were VERY bad people out here. On the hunt.

There might have even been some people who were just as bad (or god forbid WORSE) than Lapis... (who she did not miss. No matter how much the thought of breaking her heart hurt Peridot.) How did criminals just hide in plain sight? How did they trick others into thinking that they were just normal people?!

Then again... Olive hadn't suspected that the beautiful woman who had come into her shop had been part of a mafia, heck she'd even had a bit of a small crush on her after their three hour long chat. (HAD a crush, Peridot did have a girlfriend!)

She officially hated Beach City during the nighttime. There weren't many people out walking around, but the ones that were out looked... Questionable. There were more people in the alleys then she thought, how well did they hide during the day? And why? These people needed help... She waved at one of them, but they just snapped at her and called her a flurry of rude names.

"Clod." She muttered and kept running, eventually reaching her beautiful little apartment. This felt almost too good to be true! She would be safe in her home and NOT in the arms of the pretty criminal! She went into the building and her eyes widened when she saw her apartment door, her fears from Halloween night had come been confirmed.

It really had been too good to be true. The new doorknob had been the first clue. The second?

The red paper on her door that read 'Evicted.'. She really HAD forgotten to pay rent.

Peridot felt tears well up in her eyes, she had nowhere to go now... She walked out of the building as her chest ached with fear and her bottom lip quivered. She sat down on the sidewalk, the cold wind was no longer behind her, now it just bit into her arms.

What was she going to do now?! The blonde had no money, she'd probably lost her job or something... Wait a minute... Her job, the same job that had landed her with Limone!

Her girlfriend lived in the next city over, Peridot had never actually seen her house, but she knew that those criminals wouldn't find her there! They might have known Beach City upside down and inside out, but it would still take a while to search, and Peridot would have already called the cops by then.

She smiled a bit and ran into one of the 24 hour coffee shops, "Excuse me ma'am?" She asked the poor teenager working at the counter, the tired girl looked down at her, looking like she was about to fall asleep standing up.

"Yeah..?"

"I don't mean to bother you but, if it's not too much trouble, can I use the phone?" The girl nodded and yawned. "I just need to borrow a quarter."

"Y-yeah sure, right over there..." She muttered and pointed over to the phone sitting on the wall. "Here." She handed Peridot the quarter and the blonde woman nodded her thanks.

She dialled in the number and waited. Oh she really needed Limone to pick up her phone! Her girlfriend had told her that she had an awful habit of waking up at unreasonable times. Peridot felt like she didn't have much time left until one of those criminals found out she had escaped.

Her heart skipped a beat when the ring was interrupted by Limone's voice. "Olive honey, what the hell are you doing up at 3:45 in the morning?" She asked, clearly unimpressed. Peridot was a little confused, Limone had been in her apartment, she'd been the one to report Peridot as missing. Shouldn't she have been worried? Oh well, it didn't matter, her girlfriend would help her.

"L-look sweetheart. It's hard to explain, but I need you to come pick me up, like right now-" She was cut off by her girlfriend's high pitched voice squawking angrily.

"You disappear for days on end, and then call me at almost 4 in the morning, to ask if I can pick you UP?! What the hell Olive?!" She shrieked and Peridot gave a nervous laugh.

"Just listen, please! I need help really badly, I can't get into my apartment, I need to go to your place, like right now!" Peridot tried to explain, "I could be in big trouble, but if I'm in your city the p-people who might um... Not be happy with me, they won't find me if I'm with you." Peridot had the feeling that if they found her Lapis would at least prevent them from hurting her, but she didn't want to just be stuck in that house forever!

Limone growled, the blonde girl must have been in a very bad mood. "Look honey, I know you want to live with me, and that's cute. But don't pull shit like this okay? It's not funny, and it makes you look dumber than you actually are."

"Limone please!" She cried, "It's not a joke I could be danger!"

"Good night Olive."

"No! Ple-" Click.

It was over, she was going to die. That had been her last hope, her last shot...

Now the question remained... What now? She didn't know the city... She supposed she could try to wait the mobsters out until she could safely try to travel to the next city over. But where to hide?

The dump that Amethyst showed her? Eww, no, that was disgusting and absolutely horrid... Peridot would never, EVER in a million years hide in such a place. But then, she smiled as she came to a wonderful realization.

That's right... She would NEVER hide in the dump, and that was exactly why she had to. Peridot started running west.

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She was so happy, her little princess had let her cuddle her last night! It seemed the poor thing had been attention starved (although Lapis wasn't surprised since her whore of a girlfriend didn't know how to treat her nicely).

Peridot was so sweet and warm, honestly that woman represented light for Lapis. A beautiful little light in the pitch black lake. Peridot was the colour in her black and white world. She was so happy to have found her.

She peeked downstairs and rolled her eyes when she saw Jasper and Amethyst arguing. The sisters cared deeply for one another, but the little debates were constant. They were always somewhat playful, but god they could get annoying. She walked over to Peridot's bedroom door.

She hadn't made food for her yet, but Lapis couldn't resist the urge to see her sweet, adorable angel. She knocked on the door. "Peri-baby, can I come in?" She asked... No answer. She smiled, the blonde was probably still asleep. She knocked again. "Come on my love, I want to see you!" She said cheerfully. Still nothing.

"I'm sorry about this." She said and slowly opened the door. Her heart stopped.

Peridot wasn't in her bed. She knew the blonde wasn't in the bathroom, the door was open. She probably wasn't downstairs, she would have been watching Jasper and Amethyst, and even if she wasn't Lapis would have heard her voice! Where was she?!

She looked under the bed, nothing. "Peridot please, if this is some kind of trick I don't like it!" She shouted, her voice filled with panic and desperation. Her head was starting to hurt, as well as her stomach and heart. Had Peridot run away?! At what time? What if someone hurt her?! Lapis' heart pounded in her chest, her eyes stung a little. She rubbed at them to try and make it stop (she'd never felt that before, what was that?) and ran down the stairs at top speed.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" The blue haired woman screeched. Making the two sisters jump. Sheena and Garnet looked at her from the kitchen doorway.

Sheena was the first to speak. "Who Peridot? She's not in her room?" The half-Korean woman asked. Lapis shook her head rapidly, the pain her stomach now made her want to vomit.

"No, I can't find her!" She snapped at them, and then it hit her. Peridot must have escaped in the night... When Amethyst was supposed to be watching the door. She turned on the short woman and snarled, "YOU! You let her out of the house!" Lapis roared.

Amethyst shook her head rapidly, "No, no! I heard something, so I went outside! I-it was just an animal... B-but she must have gotten out when I was getting rid of the animal in the cave!" She said, clearly panicking, Lapis had made fake threats before, and the others never really took her seriously. They knew she couldn't really feel anything before. They knew she had been just acting miserable to piss people off. Now they also knew she wasn't acting anymore.

Garnet stepped forward and spoke up. "If we want to find her we need to act fast, she's frightened, she doesn't know the city. There aren't many places in Beach City that Peridot knows she can hide in. It wouldn't be hard to find her." She said calmly, but the blue haired woman was still seething.

What if someone else had found her? What if she stumbled into a Diamond spy?! Just the thought of somebody out there getting their hands on Peridot... She was so tiny, she wouldn't be able to fight back! She was snapped out of her thoughts when Jasper spoke up.

"Well It'd be a good idea if we went in pairs to search for her. I'll go alone and send out my people to search. Sheena can go alone because nobody in the city really knows about her, so she can search easier. Garnet could go together with Amethyst, the two work together well anyway." She said, the other three nodded.

"What about me?" Lapis growled, but Jasper shook her head.

"If she changes her mind and comes back, you NEED to be here. But text Pearl, she could help along with the people you have working for you." Jasper was a phenomenal tactician when she wanted to be. Kind of like Rose.

She watched them stand there, staring at her. "Well?! What are you waiting for?! Go!" Lapis roared, Garnet and Amethyst left quickly, with Jasper leaving soon after. Sheena however, stayed behind for a minute. Lapis knew what she was doing, the pink haired woman was locking up all sharp objects, along with Lapis' pistol.

Her nails dug into her palms, Lapis felt sick, her heart ached and her mind was screaming for Peridot. She went up to the blonde's room and sat down on the bed. She groaned in pain as she held her head in her hands tightly, frustration and pain making her want to scream at the top of her lungs. Why wasn't she good enough? She'd tried so hard to be perfect for Peridot, she didn't know what to do... "Poor baby, you're out there all alone in the cold... We'll get you home, safe and sound. I promise that whatever you want, I'll do. If you don't want to be stuck in the house I'll take you with me places, you can explore the city with me, you'll be safe and happy, I promise."

She took out her phone and created 2 chat groups. One for the people she was allowed to kill and one she wasn't. She went to the expendable people first.

Lapis: I want everyone who works for me to get your asses out there and find Peridot! And I swear to god if you so much as think about hurting her to get her back I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER

Lucas: alright, I'm heading out. If I see her I'll tell you Lady Lazuli.

Lapis: Find her! Bring her back to me! Do as I say before I END your worthless life!

Issac: You don't take no for an answer do you?

Lapis: Not when it comes to my Peridot.

She sent them out a picture of the little blonde, and many of them told her they had started searching. She put her hand on Peridot's pillow, it was cold, meaning that she'd been gone for hours, and with the temperature dropping quickly, they needed to find her before she got sick. Not that Lapis wouldn't enjoy taking care of her, but the blue haired girl was so worried...

Her phone buzzed.

Pearl: I heard what happened. I'm searching for her right now, I've asked the police if they've seen her, but nobody seems to have found her.

Lapis: Don't go to the cops you dumbass if they find her we're screwed! They aren't all corrupt!

She groaned again. The police in Pearl's district had been bribed by Rose to keep quiet about them, and Pearl was a master of disguise, so she could easily pretend to be a concerned citizen, but cops were finicky. Rose had told them to leave robberies be for Sheena's sake, but kidnapping? Lapis wasn't sure how they would feel about that.

Lapis: any news?

Garnet: Not yet, it's only been about an hour, stay calm.

She sighed as she laid down on the bed, taking in Peridot's scent. How was she supposed to stay calm when the love of her life could be in danger?!

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Garnet Avenir

She was searching through part of her district quickly, with Amethyst at her heels. The short woman was terrified, even though she knew she wasn't in any real danger. Lapis could threaten them all she liked, but she had made a promise to Rose. If she one day snapped and murdered any of them, the boss would kill her.

It had been about three hours since they had started to search the huge city, the sun would have been somewhat high by now, as it was 11:00, but it was cloudy out and cold. She knew it wouldn't snow for a long while yet, but rain was coming.

Garnet sighed a little shook her head. Peridot wasn't in the business district, there were almost no places to hide, and someone would have found her and called the police. She kept checking the news website, there were no changes on Olive's missing person article.

She heard Amethyst groan loudly beside her. "Ugh, we're NEVER gonna find her!" She shouted in frustration. Garnet looked at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax Amethyst, we just need to keep looking. Trust me, we can find her. Think through her mind, see through her eyes." She said, and the tan skinned woman looked incredibly confused. "Peridot wasn't in her home, meaning she's either too scared or can't go back in, and my money's on the latter. So she's on her own in a city she barely knows being hunted down by the mafia and though she's scared she probably knows that we can't hurt her. If you were in a situation like that, what would you do?"

Amethyst gave a small smile. "Well I'd go somewhere where I think nobody would look. And she kinda knows the city. Lapis took her to Pearl's district a while ago." Garnet nodded and gestured for her to keep talking. "But... Sheena and P said she's not there. What other places does she know?" The small woman asked and looked up at her. Amethyst's deep blue, almost violet eyes lit up as she came to a realization.

"Yes? What is it?" Garnet asked with a small smile as her companion hopped on the spot.

"I know where she is!" Amethyst cried out, "I showed her parts of my home! I gotta text Carny!" She said with a huge smile, but Garnet shook her head.

"Peridot wouldn't go to your home, she'd run risk of you or the others finding her. She's clever, she knows we'd look in obvious places, as Pearl studied her and told us that she's a creature of logic, she's trying to outsmart us. Peridot is in what would be either the last place we'd look or a place we'd never look."

Amethyst looked down and tapped her hands on her forehead, she was trying to think quickly. The short mobsters head shot up and she grabbed Garnet's fingers. (Everyone was always careful about each others scars, and Garnet had been given two marks) "The dump, she looked all grossed out by it, of course she would hide there! We'd never look!"

The dark skinned girl grinned brightly, Amethyst and Jasper were jokingly called the bloodhounds of the group, they hadn't failed to find a person yet.

The two ran for a while, the taller of the two no longer to read Lapis' panicked and angry messages, she was losing her mind in that house, they needed to find that little woman and fast.

They entered the garbage dump quickly and Amethyst took the lead. The smell was horrid but they needed to be here. "Shut up for a second." Amethyst ordered, Garnet hadn't been talking, but she kept her mouth shut. There was a small sound being carried on the cold winds. Fast, high pitched breathing, and a nasally little voice whimpering on occasion.

After a moment Garnet heard a sniff, Peridot seemed to be crying, or at least she was on the verge of it. The tall woman turned to Amethyst and whispered, "I'm going to talk to her. You stay behind, you technically did let her out, she may be frightened to see you first, okay?" The Hispanic nodded and stayed a bit behind her as she walked over to the source of the sounds.

Garnet looked around, tying to listen for Peridot. She had to think, Peridot knew they couldn't hurt her. So she would hide somewhere that even if she was found they wouldn't be able to get to her without using force. She looked around what was small enough for her to hide in...?

She heard a tiny sniffle come from a huge barely rusted mailbox, it appeared to be new, but the legs had been melted off, it was laying on its side. The black haired woman knelt down and peered inside. There she was, curled up into a little ball just out of her reach, was Peridot. She saw the tall woman and started to shake, a few stray tears ran down her cheeks.

Garnet took of her sunglasses, showing her two differently coloured eyes. She gave the frightened girl a patient grin. "Hello Peridot, or Olive if you prefer. I'm glad you're alright. I think it would be for the best if you came with me" She said, keeping her voice even to try and calm her down. Peridot growled at her and snapped.

"No! I hate you!" She looked like a cornered cat. The dark woman sighed and shifted around so she was sitting on her knees.

"Come on now, you and I both know that's not true." She said, and Peridot went silent. "I want to talk to you, I'm not going to force you to go to the house. Can I just talk with you?" She asked. After a few moments the blonde nodded. "I would like to make a deal with you, with the two possibilities I can see working for you."

"I'm listening."

Garnet held out her left hand, the one that had a burn scar in it. A circle with lines inside that connected to make a square. The mark one of her mothers, Ruby, possessed on her left hand. "You can come with me, I will take you to a shelter, I will tell them that Lapis Lazuli has been an abusive partner, and I will never let her near you. You will never see Lapis again, but afterwards I can't guarantee anything for you, as I won't be able to watch over you." She said, and held out her right hand.

This hand was a bit different. The mark had been cut in, it was still a circle, but the lines connected to make a triangle in the center. The mark from her other mother, Sapphire. "Now excuse my pun, but on the other hand," She smiled when she heard Peridot let out a breathy laugh, "I can take you back to the house, where there are people who love and care about you, and want to be your friends. By now I've guessed that Lapis has realized the source of the problem and will most likely be making changes to suit what you want."

Peridot stared at her, her bright green eyes studying her carefully. "So what now?" She asked cautiously, Garnet moved her open hands out towards her.

"You decide your fate, pick which hand you want." She said, and after what seemed like days of waiting Peridot crawled forward and reached out. Garnet grinned as she grabbed at one of her hands.

Her right one.

She pulled the small woman out of the mailbox. "I must say, this was rather smart of you, hiding in a mailbox." She said, but Peridot didn't respond, she started to shiver. The blonde needed to get warm, and quickly. The tall woman grabbed her phone.

Garnet: Amethyst found her.

She decided that saying that the short woman found Peridot would put Amethyst back in Lapis' good books.

Lapis: oh my god thank you THANK YOU! Is she okay?

Garnet: Cold, tired, a little scared and probably hungry. But she's fine, we're bringing her home right now.

Lapis: okay, she's not hurt?

Garnet: No. And I'm going to tell you something. You need to tone down your behaviour, give her some freedom.

Lapis: Oh yes of course! I'm bringing her with me places and I'll go wherever she wants.

Garnet showed Peridot the message, she nodded and walked all the way back to the house silently. Garnet couldn't tell what she was thinking.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She was basically wanting to cling to Garnet's leg when they got to her bedroom door. The house was dead silent, it was warm but she was still shaking. She'd decided that running away was a bad idea. Maybe this place could be home, she'd been happy in it this morning, and if she was being honest... She'd miss being treated so nicely...

She looked up at Garnet as the tall woman knocked on the door. "Lapis, there's someone here to see you." She said, the door swung open. Peridot flinched and took a step back, expecting to be yelled at for leaving. Garnet went to her room, leaving the two alone. (Amethyst went to her home after they had found her)

Instead of yelling Lapis was quiet and somber, "Look I... I know that I'm n-not perfect... I hurt people. But believe me, when I say I'm sorry... I mean it." She said, and the way she sounded made Peridot want to hug her. "If you want to go somewhere and just walk around and be you, that's okay. I wouldn't be mad at you for that. I love you too much to ever treat you like a prisoner."

Peridot nodded, and hugged her. Sure she was on her own planet, but she'd been nicer to Peridot in almost a week than anyone had been to her in years. _'Yeah, she's crazy... But she's crazy for me, and that's sounding less and less like a bad thing.'_


	11. BONUS DELETED SCENE 2

_**AN: This chapter is not a part of the story, but I want to see if anyone can figure out what the ending means. This chapter is about what would happen if Olive wanted to go to the shelter.**_ _ **This story now has an official blog where you can ask me or the characters anything you want! Just type in this address: blog/su-mafia-yandere-lapidot-au-blog**_

Peridot stared at her, her bright green eyes studying her carefully. "So what now?" She asked cautiously, Garnet moved her open hands out towards her.

"You decide your fate, pick which hand you want." She said, and after what seemed like days of waiting Olive crawled forward and reached out. Garnet's heart fell a little as she grabbed at one of her hands.

Her left one.

She pulled the small woman out of the mailbox. "I must say, this was rather smart of you, hiding in a mailbox." She said, but Olive didn't respond, she started to shiver. The blonde needed to get warm, and quickly.

She looked around for Amethyst, the purple haired girl was standing a little ways off. Making sure to hide Olive behind her she called out, "False alarm! It was just a dog! You keep looking in the other direction!" She shouted to the shorter woman, who nodded and made her way to the other side of the dump.

Garnet grabbed Olive's hand gently and led her off to her own District. The business sector. She made sure to walk a bit faster, in order to encourage the little blonde to keep up, she did, and quite well for someone so small in a place so large. "Are you sure this is what you want Olive?" Garnet asked, and while the Greek woman gave no response she nodded as the two got to the building.

The tall criminal went up to the woman at the front desk after letting go of Olive's tiny hand. "Miss, I have someone who needs to stay here. She was being abused by a woman known as Lapis Lazuli." Garnet lied to her, and the desk lady's eyes filled with sympathy and compassion. She glanced down at Olive before looking back up at Garnet, she whispered to her so that Olive couldn't hear.

"Oh my god, she looks so thin... Do you know about what happened to her?" The woman asked but Garnet shook her head.

"I don't think it was that bad, however her eating habits are quite poor. She needs reminders to eat and encouragement to finish her food." The dark skinned woman explained as she remembered Olive's shyness and reluctant attitude towards food that wasn't lettuce, she remembered Lapis having to softly coax her to eat more of her food, as she often tried to leave over half of it uneaten. Garnet had the feeling that Olive DID have an abusive partner. And it wasn't Lapis.

After a short talk and watching her email someone on her computer the lady stood up, "Thank you for your time, I'll take Olive to her room now." She said and the small woman turned to look up at her.

"G-garnet? I um... I'll miss you guys." She said in a barely audible voice. "G-goodbye." Olive looked down as she started to hold the heart shaped peridot on her necklace.

Garnet bent down to her height, Olive looked so tiny and frail, her green eyes were filling with tears. The taller woman knew what was going on in her head, but it was too late now. "Goodbye Peridot."

The dark skinned woman had walked home to see a broken Lapis, she had told her that Peridot was nowhere to be found, and that they might have to accept that The Diamond Authority might have taken her away, they didn't have the resources to be able to fight The Diamonds. The blue haired girl had curled up tighter on Peridot's bed and sobbed and wailed, tears spilling down Lapis' cheeks for the first time in her entire life as her heart shattered.

From that day forward, Lapis did not leave Peridot's room. From that day forward, Lapis never spoke another word to anyone, although on occasion they could hear a long mournful cry, a desperate plea for the woman she loved to come back home, and that she was sorry...

Garnet regretted giving Peridot a choice.

TIME SKIP- Thanksgiving weekend

POV SHIFT- Peridot Olive Odelet

She sat out back watching at the sun as it sank down out of sight, holding her necklace tightly. Olive held it so often it was rarely cold, it was warm like the arms of the woman who had given it to her. The woman who had done nothing but take care for her and make sure she had anything she could want.

The woman whose heart Olive had broken.

After a few moments the Greek woman had gone inside, the chill getting to be too much for her. There were barely any people in the shelter now, they just... Disappeared. She went into her room without a sound, her tiny feet silent against the floor. People here liked the peace and quiet, many of them were shy and timid just like her.

It was deathly quiet in her room, and she hadn't seen her roommates for two days. Olive guessed that they had simply found places to live, still though, it hurt that they hadn't said anything. Not many people had spoken to her all day, they just stared.

She shook her head, people were probably just somber from having to spend Thanksgiving in here. Olive didn't care, as far as she was concerned she had no family. Although she wondered how the mafia people were doing... Sheena and Garnet were probably upset, Amethyst was most likely fearing for her life (if Lapis hadn't killed her already), she'd never gotten to meet Pearl, Jasper might be pleased that the 'pampered deadweight' was gone. But Lapis...?

It of hurt Olive to think about how much she'd hurt her. That woman had obviously been through atrocious things... All she had wanted was to love someone. If Olive was ever asked about her past, she never mentioned Lapis' name, she had learned through what the others said the Limone was a cruel woman had done nothing but twist her mind, Limone didn't love her (Lapis loved her). She would tell them what Limone had done to her, but putting Lapis into her story felt disgusting.

Though the building was normally quiet due to not many people wanting to be loud as not to spook anyone, it had always been a calm quiet. It reminded Olive of sitting in front of a fire. But THIS quiet wasn't good. It was the kind quiet in movies just moments before the kidnapper jumped out and carried the victim off, never to be seen until the hero came months later to find the victim's mind shattered and submissive.

Olive felt as if she was being watched, thoughts of Lapis came back to her and she wanted to curl up into a ball, but... Garnet had promised to keep her away, right? She wouldn't let Olive down... Right?

More and more people had been disappearing from the shelter lately, the little blonde was terrified, always on edge, her nerves had been permanently frayed. But the lady who ran it just said, "Don't worry dear, this is normal. Everything will be okay, you'll see." Before going to her office to make a phone call, the next day another person would leave without a word.

There was a note on her pillow, every drop of blood in her body turned to ice when she started to read it.

Did you honestly think that if you ignored me, that I would go away?

Do you really think that if you ran from me like you did, that I wouldn't follow you?

Did you truly think that even if you got help, that I could just let you go?

Did you really think that I wouldn't be able to find you if you tried to be clever?

Or that I wouldn't find you here?

Oh no no my dear.

It doesn't matter where you go. It doesn't matter what you do to try and get away from us. Or escape your fate.

The only thing you can do is simply accept the fact that I am always right there.

"Behind you."

Olive looked up and froze upon hearing the familiar voice whispered almost directly into her ear. A single thought ran through her head.

' _That's not Lapis.'_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Trigger warning for some... Rather not good implications. It's up to you to decide what almost happened to Olive. Along with some implications of an unspecified eating disorder.**_

She sat on the edge of the porch of the house kicking her feet. It had been three days since Peridot had tried to run away. Now the blonde was watching the bright red sun slowly sink into the ocean. Lapis was inside the house, apparently arguing with someone over the phone. Garnet had suggested she go outside for a while.

It had been somewhat peaceful for a while. She and Lapis had gone to walk around in a park earlier, she liked walking around places, it helped her clear her head. She especially liked that it had been quiet, she wasn't a big fan of people. They were loud and so many of them were stupid. She jumped a little when she heard the door open.

"Sorry about that sweetie. I brought you something to make up for it." Said Lapis as she sat down near her. In her hands was a small muffin, Peridot shook her head when she saw it. She had been a lot thinking about her girlfriend lately... She really didn't need to be eating that. Lapis tilted her head, "You don't want it?"

The blonde pushed her hand away a bit. "Not hungry." She lied, and while Lapis frowned she didn't say any more about it. She hadn't been eating much lately, every time she did she heard Limone's voice mocking her. She had eaten well the first week because she had been too frightened to say no. But her fear was fading and with it her appetite, (or at least that was what she told herself) not to mention her self esteem. Lapis could protect her from a threat from the waking world but she couldn't stop dreams. The blue haired woman looked out at the ocean.

"You... You can swim right?" She asked, Peridot raised an eyebrow. She was 23 years old and she had lived in Canada, of course she could swim. Mind you she wasn't the BEST at it, but she could.

"Um... Yes? Why are you asking? I'm not going into the water I'll freez-"

Lapis started giggling, she shook her head and lightly placed a hand on Peridot's shoulder. She was okay with that. "N-no! Of course you're not going into the ocean silly! Even Jasper wouldn't do that. I just wanted to know." She started laughing again.

' _Well my answer made you laugh, nice to know you have a sense of humour.'_ She thought to herself. Although Lapis stopped laughing when she saw a silhouette (two silhouettes?) at the mouth of the cave. "La-"

"Get behind me. Now." The criminal said to her, clearly not trying to be forceful with her tone. Peridot quickly scrambled behind her when she stood up, and the blonde's heart stopped when she saw a pistol in Lapis' hand.

She covered her ears just in case, but looked up at her. "Y-you're not going to kill them are you?" She whispered. But if Lapis gave a response she didn't hear it. She knew that this cave was the Crystal Gems base of operation, and they needed to protect it from anything and everything.

"No promises my love."

The two shapes drew near and Lapis relaxed instantly. "Hi Steven, hi Connie! What are you guys doing here?" She asked the two teenagers. It seemed Steven had a friend, a lovely young girl with dark skin and hair, she had warm brown eyes coupled with a pleasant smile.

"Hiya Lapis! Hey there Miss Peridot! Connie and I wanted to know if we could stay here for a while. Would that be okay?" Asked Steven, beside him Connie shuffled her feet as she tapped her fingers on the side of a physics textbook. Peridot waved at her and she smiled again.

"Oh sure, no problem. How did you get here though? Neither of you can drive." Said Lapis, and Steven pointed to the opening of the cavern, Peridot squinted at the new person entering, tall and thin.

Connie spoke up from where she stood. "Pearl drove us, she's helping me with my studies." The teenager explained, so Peridot finally got to meet this fabled 'Pearl'. According to the others she was the second in command and she was motherly yet terrifying. Sheena had explained (with a smile no less) that Pearl was violently protective of the others.

Peridot's bright green eyes widened when Pearl walked up to the house. She KNEW this girl, of course she did, she'd seen her around town a few times but had talked with her on the bus the day she'd been kidnapped! The same pale blue eyes, pointy nose, scar on her forehead.

It all clicked together in the tiny blonde's mind rather quickly. This woman had been stalking her for Lapis. She had come into Peridot's old shop once, and seemed to be studying the things sitting around. "I know you!" The short girl cried, and Pearl tilted her head.

"Oh, you remember me?" She asked, clearly not caring about what she'd done. Peridot on the other hand was very much horrified.

"You STALKED me! Do you even realize how actually fucking creepy that is?!" Peridot shrieked, and Lapis tilted her head a bit.

"Creepy? All she did was collect information. That and make sure you were safe, can't be too careful." She spoke calmly, "Look, I realize it IS a bit scary to think about, and yes I understand you're upset. Peridot you have to know this though... I just COULDN'T bring myself to face you again in public. I really didn't want to do that-" The blue haired woman was cut off by Pearl, as the small blonde in front of her just stood there, shocked beyond words.

"Peridot. I am genuinely sorry for what happened, I regret what I did, and I never wanted to do so in the first place. But if it makes you feel any better at all I think you're a wonderful young lady." She said with a pleasant smile, and Peridot wanted so badly to be angry... But if she was honest, she had a feeling she had been stalked. What with her paranoia and the mysterious gifts in the mailbox of her old home.

The blonde huffed, "Look, I always had a feeling that I was being followed, and Pearl? I somewhat accept your apology. But I'm still upset, you had no right to violate my privacy like that!" She glared at them, Pearl nodded and went inside. Peridot could hear Sheena call to the peach haired criminal happily.

Lapis however looked down, ashamed. "I... I'm so sorry... I know that was stupid. If I could have just spoken to you again BELIEVE me would... I never wanted to scare you."

Peridot just sighed, she figured she had better get used to this. Lapis was an odd woman, certainly something else... Besides, it had stopped. It wasn't like Pearl had even wanted to follow her in the first place. Sure Peridot was creeped out but… It's not like it mattered anymore.

"Hey guys…?" Said Steven, and Peridot winced as she realized that she just had an outburst right in front of the two kids. "You're okay, right?" His voice was filled with concern. Peridot nodded and Lapis hugged him and Connie tightly.

She spoke with a soothing tone, "It's okay guys, it's just adult stuff, you'll understand better when you're a bit older." She said and turned to Peridot, "It's just weird stuff, right Peri?" She said with a hopeful smile. Peridot nodded quickly and sat on a step again, feeling a little lightheaded.

"Yeah, it's fine. Sorry about that... I have a bit of a temper." She explained, Steven hugged her and Connie giggled a bit.

When Peridot's confused green gaze fell on the teen she explained, "Sorry ma'am but... You looked a little funny! Your face was all red and it was weird hearing a big voice from someone really small." Connie explained with a sweet little smile. Peridot realized with an embarrassed blush that she was the shortest person here.

Steven grinned at her, "So, are you allowed to go on missions?" He asked, but before the short woman could give an answer Lapis spoke up with a gently scolding tone.

"Nice try. You're still too young and Rose doesn't want you out there." Lapis said, "And Peri's too delicate for that. I couldn't handle her getting hurt out there when I know she could be nice and safe at home." The blue haired girl gently placed a soft hand on Peridot's shoulder, but the blonde couldn't help but be a tiny bit offended.

She waited until Steven gave a chuckle before rushing inside to meet up with Connie, who'd gone into the huge house only a few moments ago. She looked at the woman who claimed to love her and sighed. "Lapis I'm not that frail you know. I lived on the streets once." She said, suppressing a shudder at the thought of what could have happened to her in that back alley if Yellow Diamond hadn't stepped in.

It had been pouring rain, and the tiny blonde, only 22 years old then, was sick. She had always gotten sick easily, but during her time on the streets it hadn't been too bad, this time however had left her feeling weak and borderline feeble. She had heard a dark chuckle as she huddled near a dumpster trying to avoid the rain, and her blood had turned to ice.

Olive had turned around to see a man coming towards her with a small pocket knife, she shivered and sniffled, "P-please no..." The blonde begged, but he simply chuckled again.

"Sorry sweets, nothin' personal, just want some fun that's all." He muttered and Olive tried to back away, her clothes were soaked through and clinging desperately to her boney frame as she shook helplessly on the wet gravel, flinching when her hand landed in a puddle as she tried to crawl backwards, away from the man before her. "Come on, don't be like that." He said with a sickening smile.

Though her teeth were chattering, the tiny blonde managed to let out a thin cry, "Help me! Somebody!" She shouted before falling onto her back due to the slick ground, her hands now had multiple tiny cuts from the sharp gravel below her.

It seemed her cries had been heard, as before the man could take another step a fist connected with the side of his face. His head slammed hard into the brick wall in the side of the alley, knocking him out.

Olive looked up to see a hand outstretched towards her, pale and strong and almost commanding. She looked even higher to see a stern face, bright blonde hair and a golden yellow coat. "Well?" The woman before her asked, "Are you going to take my hand or what? It's cold out here for summer."

She had, and after that Olive had been nearly dragged (the woman who had saved her was VERY tall, one step for her was two steps for the young woman) down to a large building. The woman, who had introduced herself as Yellow Diamond, had sat her down in a chair and told her to wait. That she would get her warm clothes and something to eat.

She had also promised the small blonde not only a place to stay, but a job at a local mechanic shop.

She had been looking around the yellow room, (she was sensing a theme here) when a high pitched voice from the other side of the room had made her jump.

"Are you okay? You look chilled. Do you mind if I sit with you?" There was a tall thin blonde woman standing there. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and wonder. Olive nodded, the girl was rather beautiful.

The Greek woman's teeth were chattering. "W-who are y-you?" She asked and the girl's eyes filled with pity as she took a pale yellow scarf out of her desk and wrapped it around the blonde's neck. "T-thanks." Said Olive as she looked the girl over, she was pretty, thin, taller than her, with pale blonde hair that stuck up and was probably dyed. Oddly enough, there was a circular scar just under her collarbone, a perfect circle.

"No problem, I know it gets kind of cold in here. My boss likes it though, so we keep the temperature low. If you're wondering what's going on, Yellow Diamond, that's my boss, runs this little organization. We take innocent, helpless people off of the streets and give them a new life!" She said as her voice filled with pride. "What's your name honey?" She asked, and Olive blushed at her words.

"O-olive Odelet." She told her as Yellow Diamond walked back in with a change of clothes.

Her voice was filled with amusement, "Ah, I see you've already met my secretary." Said Yellow, and Olive nodded. "And you even brought a smile to her face, interesting, she doesn't often care much for the people I bring in."

The girl sitting beside Olive giggled, "Of course I care for this one ma'am," She said and turned to Olive, "She's a cutie." She leaned in and gave the Greek girl a tiny peck on the cheek. Her face flushed a bright crimson and a quick warmth spread throughout her body as her heart thumped loudly in her ears.

Yellow clicked her tongue and shook her head, "I know this country's customs are odd to you, and that you're used to France, but you can't kiss a stranger on the cheek Limone." Did they do that in France? Olive had heard it was 'The Country of Romance'.

She giggled again, "Sorry about that. I forget sometimes." Limone looked up at her boss, "Would it be okay if her and I kept in touch? I like this one." For a single moment there seemed to be a knowing glance between the two, and Yellow nodded.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea Limone, it's about time you... Made a friend."

Peridot was jolted out of her thoughts when Lapis gently tapped her shoulder, "Peridot? I was talking and you just kinda... Zoned out. Did I say something wrong?" She asked, her dark blue eyes filled with fear that she had done something bad.

"Uh.. No, sorry, I was just thinking." Peridot assured her. Lapis smiled and gently squeezed her arm, an odd little sensation spread through her.

"My silly girl, I was saying that if you want to come with me you can, but if you do you have to stay behind me. I don't want my precious Peri getting hurt." She explained and the blonde gave a bright smile. She didn't know why she was so excited to go, maybe she was just looking forward to feeling useful for once?

"So... What exactly are we doing?" Asked Peridot, and Lapis held out a single match.

Upon seeing the blonde's confusion Lapis explained, "You see the match baby? We're going to go to a bank and give them what they deserve."

Peridot looked up at her, "What do you mean?" She asked, "Y-you want to... Burn it down?" This was wrong in every way shape and form, Peridot must have let her fear show, because Lapis gently stroked the side of her face with her thumb.

The blue haired girl nodded and put the match away. "You got it! Well I mean, of course you did. You're my smart cookie." Her expression went from cheerful to joyous when Peridot blushed a little. "We'll burn it down and then you can have a nice big dinner with me and all the people who work for Amethyst!"

Peridot's mind had four thoughts all at once.

1\. Why in the hell are we burning a bank and is anyone in there?!

2\. Why do they 'deserve' it?!

3\. Why am I starting to like her compliments?

4\. I HAVE TO EAT A HUGE MEAL WITH OTHERS WATCHING (judging) ME.

Oh how she feared what events were about to unfold. Peridot had the feeling they were about to hit a hornet's nest of problems...

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She got into the back seat of Amethyst's truck (what was with her and Jasper and trucks?) and giggled as she watched Peridot try to climb in after her, she was so tiny she was having a bit of a struggle with it. She felt a bit bad for having to do this, but they needed to fit as many boxes of beer bottles as they could. She effortlessly pulled the little blonde up into her lap when she got into the truck and buckled the two of them in together, Peridot squeaked.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Asked Lapis, and Peridot shook her head, her feather soft hair brushing lightly on Lapis' neck. "You're not uncomfortable, are you?" She asked as she gently put her arms around the cute girl's waist.

"No, you just startled me." Peridot told her, and she muttered an apology as Amethyst put the box of alcohol in the seat where Peridot had intended to be. "Oh, that's why you did that."

Lapis nodded, "I wouldn't do something if it made you upset Peri." She promised her, "I love you, I would never want make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that." Peridot looked up at her and her heart melted, god this woman was so adorable! The blue haired woman felt Peridot's arms settle before she started gently stroking her fingertips over the Greek girl's soft, perfect skin on the inside of her arms.

Peridot squirmed in her lap, the Hawaiian woman had been about to stop for fear she'd upset her until she heard a small giggle. "That tickles." Peridot murmured, prompting Lapis not only to keep going, but to trace her fingers all the way up her arms just to see the reaction. The tiny woman squealed, "Ahh! No!" Lapis knew she'd done something right, as Peridot was giggling and laughing, it was the most beautiful sound Lapis had ever heard. "S-stop it you jerk!" She said and kept wiggling. "Not fair!"

Lapis just smiled, "All's fair in love and war my princess." She said as Amethyst started driving.

The purple haired criminal huffed at the two in the back seat. "Thanks for the help with the boxes you assholes." She complained as Lapis remembered that Amethyst had trouble getting things into the back of the truck, as she had to climb up into the flatbed to set them down. That task wasn't that hard for someone who didn't have small arms and legs.

"Sorry Amethyst." Lapis said to her, but hugged Peridot tightly, "But remember what I told all of you. Peridot doesn't have to lift a finger." She said with a warning tone. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why the hell is she with us then?" Amethyst asked before adding in, "No offence P-dot."

"None taken."

Lapis gave a happy sigh, her beautiful angel was such a sweetheart with others. Her heart ached as her mind asked, _'When will I have you as my sweetheart? I just want to love you... I'm sorry I scare you, I'm so sorry I can't be perfect. I love you so much Peridot, this waiting is torture!_ _Please let me love you... You deserve to be treated like a princess, and I can do just that.'_ Lapis nuzzled her nose into the blonde's neck, taking in her scent.

"Uh, Lapis? You still with us? I asked why Peridot is with us." Amethyst said and the blue haired woman could see in a mirror that one of her eyebrows was raised. "You kinda spaced out and then you put your face in her hair."

Lapis blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, yes, sorry." She cleared her throat. "Peridot wants to be here, and she gets whatever she wants." Said Lapis and Amethyst nodded. The blonde girl let out a soft little yawn and relaxed against her, unknowingly making the blue haired criminal's heart flutter. "Aww, sweetie you're so cute." She whipered and ran her fingers through her hair, if Peridot fell asleep that was okay. Lapis would wake her up when they got to the bank.

The three women sat in silence for a while, the only sounds being the car and Peridot's slow breathing. Amethyst was the first to break it, "Lapis, why is she here? I don't mean for the mission, I mean here in general." She asked in a quiet, curious voice.

"Because I love her."

The Hispanic woman groaned a little when someone cut her off, "Stupid prick." She muttered, "Sorry about that, people in this city need to learn how to _drive_." Amethyst hissed at the car in front of them. "Okay, so what you're saying is that Peridot's working with us, but not _for_ us. So what are you gonna do with her?" She asked. "Sorry about all the questions. I'm bored."

Lapis nodded, she looked down at the sleeping woman's face and gave her a tiny kiss on the cheek. "I'll pamper her." She told her friend as she cuddled Peridot. "She's just so... Peaceful when she's like this, even in sleep she's angelic." Peridot's head rested on the taller woman's arm, Lapis remembered the other morning, Peridot's door had been open just a little, and Lapis had peeked in to watch her sleep for a while.

She felt the little blonde shift around in her lap, Lapis rubbed between her shoulders, "Sweetie you need to wake up." She said to her, but Peridot was a deep sleeper. "Peri-baby, c'mon." She gave her a tiny shake. "We're here."

The Greek woman stirred and tried to stretch out with a groan. Her brilliant green eyes fluttered open, making Lapis' heart start to beat wildly in her chest. "Here already?" She asked, it had been a short nap, but the poor thing must have been exhausted.

Lapis nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yep, c'mon darling." She said and gently lifted Peridot out of the car. "There you go, when we get to Amethyst's home you can sleep, okay?" The blue haired girl spoke softly and gently, and the blonde woman nodded and stretched.

Amethyst was in the back of her truck. "Help me!" She complained, and Lapis walked over to her.

She held out her strong arms. "Just pass them to me and I'll set them down." She said to the shorter woman, who proceeded to do just that. After about five minutes of Peridot begging she let the tiny girl help them, but only because Peridot had really wanted to. She frowned at the thought of Peridot coming along on what could easily turn into a dangerous mission if even something small went wrong.

"So to be clear, NONE of this is for drinking purposes?" Asked Peridot as Lapis gently handed her the last bit.

"No sweetie, we'll be drinking at a bar soon anyway though. This stuff is cheap, and it's for the mission." The taller woman explained, and Peridot nodded. For some reason she seemed nervous all of a sudden.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She watched as Amethyst ripped open a box of matches and poured them into a bowl. The Greek woman stared at the bank in front of her, a smallish building, there were no cars in the small pitch black lot in front of them. The sun had disappeared, leaving the three women in the darkness. "Amethyst? There's no one actually IN this place, right?" Asked Peridot, and the purple haired woman shook her head.

"Nah, we made sure everyone's gone. Besides, burning to death is better than fallin' for a trap like this." Amethyst told her, but the blonde's mind started asking hundreds of questions all at once. Such as, why was this place a trap? And what could be worse than death?!

Lapis carefully grabbed one of the bottles, Peridot watched her movements, she was graceful, her motions fast yet elegant and flowing like water. That water became a wave of fury as she threw the bottle against the wall, it landed with a sharp, glittery sounding crash as the liquid coated the wall. "You can throw some if you want Peri." She told her, and the short girl hesitantly grabbed a bottle and threw it at the building, jumping when the bottle smashed a window and most likely spilled all over the floor. Amethyst cheered beside them.

"Alright! Nice aim dude!" She sounded like a teenager and the blonde woman was starting to feel like one. "Throw more!" The Hispanic girl started to egg her on. "Do it! Do it!"

Peridot started to throw more inside the building, by the time all of the boxes were finished the building could probably be considered a small lake of beer. It coated the walls and there was glass littering the ground, the moon had not yet risen, or at least if it had Peridot couldn't find it. Lapis put an arm around her shoulders too make sure she stayed close.

Amethyst turned to the blue haired girl with the bowl of matches, "Wanna do the first one?" She asked, Lapis nodded and Amethyst went over to her truck, returning moments later with the bowl in one hand and a barbecue lighter in the other. "It's the best I got." She said, and when Peridot gave her a confused look she added. "None of us smoke, not really a reason to keep a normal lighter around."

The younger woman nodded a bit and watched as Lapis lit a tiny blue flame on the match, it turned a reddish orange in a heartbeat and the light from it cast a soft glow on her tan face, turning the edges of her hair where the light just barely reached the colour of blood.

Lapis gently pushed Peridot back and further away from the building. She swiftly threw the match inside the window that had broken, within seconds Peridot could see a glow inside which grew brighter as the two criminals in front of her threw more of the lit up matches.

The area around them was now bathed in a hellish angry glow. Gold and orange mingled together in a bright dance as tiny red embers floated into the sky to become new, temporary stars. A hellfire rainbow blazed in front of the tiny woman, mesmerizing and dangerous like the woman who stood before her.

The Greek woman reached up to touch Lapis' shoulder. "Why are you doing this? Is it because of someone who owns the bank?" She asked and the blue haired woman gave her a wide smile.

"That's right princess! Someone very bad owns this place." She said, having to speak a bit loudly as the bank behind them turned into brightly lit rubble.

"Do you mind if I ask who?"

Lapis shook her head, "Not at all sweetie. The nasty lady who owns this place is one of the main members of the Diamond Authority." She spat the last two words as if they were poison in her mouth, with her next words making Peridot's blood, despite the intense heat in the air, turn to ice-water. "Her name is Yellow Diamond."

 _ **To be continued...**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**AN: Sorry about the wait, I got really sick for a while. A little warning for some blood, along with Lapis and Peridot's self hatred. You guys finally get to meet Blue Diamond though.**_

Peridot's mind was reeling, Yellow Diamond?! The SAME woman who had taken her off of the streets? She wanted to pinch herself, tell Lapis that what she had said was a lie, but the blue haired woman had promised to never lie to her. But... Yellow Diamond was her boss! She was burning her bank down! That was more than a direct insult to her!

The Greek woman's thoughts were cut off when she could see a car pull up to the burning building, despite its paint being the colour of oil it gleamed brightly as it pulled up, Peridot could see the fire reflected in it. There was some angry shouting and Peridot clung to Lapis, who put a protective arm around her. The blonde could hear someone in the car shout the word 'gun' and whimpered. Amethyst growled when she saw the car. "Gangs..." She muttered before adding in something in Spanish that Peridot couldn't understand, she had a good guess though.

She could hear Lapis' voice, powerful yet sweet, calmly speaking to her. "I won't let them hurt you my love, I promise they won't hurt you." She tried to reassure the smaller girl. Amethyst growled and took out what looked like an old style revolver before firing a few shots at the car, Peridot flinched at every last one of them.

But she screamed when a bullet whizzed by her ear. Lapis took out the two of the men with her trusty pistol before sprinting up to the car and throwing the driver to the ground when he had tried to run away from her. Peridot couldn't see much, she was hiding behind a few trash cans as the purple haired woman near her fired more shots at the gang member, being careful not to hit Lapis.

She peered around the side of the trash can she had made her hiding spot, Lapis had the leader pinned to the ground, she was snarling into his face, which was streaked with tears and blood that coming from his now broken nose. "You. Absolute. Bastard!" Lapis roared, "How DARE you try and hurt her! What made you think you had the fucking right to try and TAKE HER FROM ME?!" If the blue haired girl had been an animal in that moment, she would have been a tiger, or a wolf. Her voice dropped down to a dangerous growl. "People who take from other people go to jail. People who take from ME go to the cemetery." She put her pistol to his forehead and Peridot ducked, closed her eyes and covered her ears.

She still heard the bang, but that was it, Amethyst tugged her arm. "We gotta go!" She shouted at the Greek woman, "More are coming!" She pulled Peridot to her feet and the two started to run through a junkyard before the blonde turned around in search of a certain blue haired mobster.

"Lapis?!" She cried out and said woman sprang up from the corpse she had been attacking to look at her, there was blood coating her upper arms and some of it had even splattered into her face and hair, she had been wiping it on the dead man's shirt before she started to run after them though, the blood was now just stains.

"It's okay sweetheart, I'm right here!" She reassured her as she kept running just a little ways behind them, Peridot would never admit to letting out a sigh of relief. She heard more cars pull up to that ruined building and more shouting.

The blonde's heart jolted when she heard Lapis cry out in pain, she turned around fully now to see what had happened. It seemed that while she had been running the blue haired girl hadn't been paying attention to what was around her, she had sliced her leg open on a sharp piece of scrap metal that had been sticking out of a pile of junk and was now laying on the ground giving small screams of pain as blood welled up, starting to stain her jeans. Peridot ran back to her.

Lapis shook her head rapidly, "Go sweetie, run..." She said and groaned loudly, the shouting was getting louder and Peridot swore she could hear her own heartbeat.

"I- We're not leaving you behind." She stated and pulled the blue haired woman up to lean on her. "I'll help you, just lean on me and use your good leg, I'll get us to the car." She told her as she felt Lapis hesitantly put her weight onto Peridot. "That's it." The blonde encouraged her, and tried not to wince when the criminal's sharp nails dug into her shoulder.

The Greek had managed to get Lapis into the truck with surprisingly little difficulty, she ignored the blood and did her best to keep the blue haired girl calm. "Thank you so much sweetheart..." Lapis murmured.

Amethyst leaned her head back as she started the truck, it roared to life as the small woman slammed her foot down on the gas. "You okay Laz?" She asked, Lapis groaned in pain and Peridot rubbed her back gently.

"Get Cottontail..." She muttered, the purple haired criminal nodded quickly before tossing Peridot a cellphone.

The blonde girl was beyond confused. "Who?" She asked, Lapis reached a hand up and dialled the number before stroking the back of Peridot's hair, her other hand was pushing down hard on her leg where she'd gotten cut.

"A-a doctor that works for us, she lost her medical license a year ago but she's smart." Her friend explained. Peridot nodded, and held the phone up to her ear. "If she asks who you are tell her you're a new Crystal Gem." Said Lapis, although she spat the second last word as if it was poison in her mouth.

It rang twice before a high pitched and exhausted voice came through. "Amethyst, I swear to god this had better be important." It was a woman talking, a very annoyed woman.

"U-um, this isn't Ameth-"

"Who are you?" The woman, presumably Cottontail, demanded. Peridot replied with a nervous, shaking voice.

"My name is Peridot, I'm... I'm a new Crystal Gem." She explained to the girl on the phone.

There was a small moment of silence before Cottontail spoke again, a bit softer this time. "Where are you and who's hurt?" She asked, and the blonde swore she detected a bit of a Korean accent.

"Amethyst's district, we'll be at her home soon, Lapis is hurt..." She said, her voice trailing off when said blue haired girl gently took her hand and held it close, clearly trying to comfort herself.

"How badly?"

Peridot looked at (and winced upon seeing) the gash on Lapis' leg, it was an ugly red colour, and was probably incredibly painful, poor thing. "I-I don't think it's too deep, but her leg was cut by scrap metal."

She heard a soft sigh, "I'm on my way." She could hear before the woman on the phone must have turned to someone next to her and said, "Cat, we have to go to Amethyst's place." Said Cottontail before she hung up. Was she talking to a cat? Just how many of these people were insane?!

Amethyst parked the truck in front of an old, abandoned elementary school. Peridot wished that she could have gone to a normal school as a child, she had been forced to go to some weird all-girls academy for so long... And her parents had been shocked when she told them she was a lesbian. Her brothers had been allowed to go to a normal school though.

It was dark but the Greek woman could see two people standing near the entrance, one of them, the taller one, had a flashlight. Amethyst honked at them before getting out of the car. "Chicas! Get everyone over here!" The Hispanic woman cried happily and the shorter one pulled out a cellphone and presumably started texting people. Lapis was surprisingly easy to get out of the car, she groaned softly.

"I know Lapis, it's gonna be okay, that doctor will be here soon." She told her as the two people that had been standing in front came up to them. A tall, slim woman with fluffy white hair looked down at her with concern, she had burn scars on her skin that look a little like stripes along with a larger one on her navel. Beside her was a small woman, just barely taller than Amethyst, looking at Peridot and Lapis with wild and curious eyes, her hair was dark red and it curled around her chubby cheeks, she appeared to be chewing something. She glanced at Lapis' injury and her eyes widened. The taller of the two spoke up.

"What the hell happened to her?" Asked the white haired woman, who reminded Peridot of Jasper in a way. Amethyst shook her head as she lead them all inside of the old building.

"Junk yard, scrap metal, she doesn't watch when she's running." Amethyst explained in the shortest way possible, the two girls seemed to understand fully though. The little group went into the eerily quiet building, some of the lights had either burnt out or they just hadn't been turned on. There where cracked tiles with flecks of dried paint all over them, the faint scent of food drifted in from down a hallway, simultaneously making Peridot's mouth water and her stomach turn.

The white paint on the walls of the school was chipped so badly it turned the corridors into an odd maze of molted grey and white. Lockers that had once been greenish grey had been spray painted a light purple. The blonde sat Lapis down on a bench and rolled up her pant leg, grimacing when the blue haired girl hissed in pain from the action. "Peri it hurts..." She whimpered.

"I know it hurts, you have to hang on though. That doctor will be here soon, okay?" She said to try and calm Lapis, it seemed to work a bit. Dark blue eyes, filled with tender love and affection, gazed up at her. Peridot could feel herself blush.

She was startled by the redheaded girl from outside talking to her from out of nowhere. "Hola chica rubia, que estas haciendo?" She asked. Peridot's mouth dropped open, she didn't have a clue on how to speak Spanish.

"U-um... Hi? I'm sorry I don't speak Spanish, only English and Greek." Said the young woman very slowly, the red haired woman burst into laughter.

"Holy shit you shoulda seen your face!" She cackled, Peridot blushed again, this time from embarrassment. "It's okay, I was just asking what you were doing! Name's Carnelian by the way, Carnelian Carmine." She said before blowing a pale yellow bubble from her gum, it didn't get very big, but Peridot was still amused by the sound it made when it popped.

Lapis spoke up from her place. "Peridot's been making sure I'm okay, she's a sweetheart." The blue haired girl said, her voice filled with gratitude and adoration. "That's why I'm giving her a treat tonight."

Carnelian snickered and turned back to Peridot before blowing another bubble. "Well if you guys need a closet for it there's one down the hall, Skinny and I mostly use the ones in the upstairs floors." She told the Greek woman, whose face flushed a bright red.

"N-no! It's not like that at all!" She stammered, Lapis seemed to have oh-so helpfully gone silent. She had a far-off look as she stared into the bathroom in front of them.

Carnelian lifted an eyebrow at that. Peridot shook her head rapidly before speaking again. "Lapis and I aren't together at all!" She shouted, and regretted it. After all, Lapis had done so much for her, the mobster did everything she could to make sure one stupid, whiny girl would be happy. She worked so hard to care for Peridot, even singing her a sweet lullaby should the blonde ever wake up from a nightmare, shaking and crying. Lapis would hold her tightly and tell her that everything would be okay.

She was the very opposite of Peridot's girlfriend. It was disgusting and wrong but Peridot was starting not to care.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

There was no blade or poison that could have hurt her more than those words had... The blonde looked appalled at the joking thought that she could be with Lapis. Of course Carnelian had been joking, she always joked about that kind of thing.

But then again, of course Peridot would be appalled... A flawless goddess like her even giving a hideous beast like Lapis a second thought? Oh Lapis wished she could laugh like it was a joke. The blue haired girl wished for so many things.

To hold Peridot close, to see her smile and know she had done something right for once, to have nobody else try to touch her or take her away, Peridot's love...

And for her heart to stop aching at those words, that sick cruel joke that Carnelian was laughing at. To stop hearing Blue Diamond's voice in her head telling her that she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't capable of being loved by anyone... And that Peridot would never love her.

"Lapis, are you okay?" Said the beautiful woman before her, looking up at her with sorrowful green eyes. "What I said probably sounded very rude, I apologize if I hurt you." She said, and Lapis had noticed that the red haired woman had left, presumably to go find Skinny. "I'm so sorry, are we... Friends?" She asked.

Lapis nodded, it wasn't what SHE wanted, but if Peridot wanted to call her a friend she would take it. Lapis wanted to love this woman, to show her what it felt like, but for now, being called the Greek woman's friend was an honour.

"Peri-baby I could never be upset with you, please don't forget that I love you..." She said quietly, the Hawaiian woman reached a hand out to softly caress Peridot's cheek, her heart fluttering a bit when Peridot smiled, giving the signal that this action was okay.

She had done something right, completely contradictory to what her mind was telling her.

The two women were startled by the sound of the door being opened. A small woman, followed by a much larger one were running down the hall towards her and Peridot. The larger woman was carrying a suitcase in her strong arms. The doctor and her wife.

Aqua and Cat. Of course, Aqua's nickname was Cottontail due to her flighty, jumpy nature, just like a rabbit. The Korean girl was tiny compared to her wife, the nervous woman had gotten her medical license taken away after a horrific incident at the hospital she worked at. She had light sea green hair that was tied back in a braid, along with a large black sweater tied tightly around her waist, probably at the request of her wife. Asocial and prickly, Aqua was as warm as a lake in a blizzard.

Her wife Cat was her exact opposite. Not the sharpest stick in the wood pile but friendly and very sweet. She was tall and strong, resembling Jasper with broad shoulders and long hair. Cat's hair was black and much curlier though, along with just a LITTLE bit shorter. She had been rescued from White Diamond around the same time as Pearl; she and Aqua had fallen in love after the Korean woman had healed the wounds that White had inflicted on her.

The mafia paid Aqua large sums of money to heal their wounds and illness's. They gave her supplies and she saved their lives. She just... Wasn't very nice about it, she was brutally honest, and wasn't afraid to snark at people if they had made a stupid choice. That and the fact that Rose had told her time and time again to use painkillers on people if she was treating them but the stubborn girl refused to listen. She took one look at Lapis and sucked air in through her teeth.

"That cut's going to need about three stitches." She told her, her tone lacking any semblance of sympathy.

Lapis' heart fell into her stomach. "Really?" She gazed up at her as Peridot's vibrant green eyes widened.

"It's that bad?!" She asked loudly, Aqua glared a little at the sudden noise but nodded.

The illegal doctor grabbed the suitcase from Cat and set it on the floor, proceeding to take things out and set them around her. "She's lucky it didn't cut deeper." She hissed, Lapis could see Peridot glare at her.

' _Oh sweetie, are you defending me? Do you really care about me? Is this what it took to win your heart?'_ The blue haired woman thought to herself, Cat gently pulled her up from her spot before setting her down on the floor.

"You gotta lay down Lapis, I can get you a towel to lay on if you want." Said the large woman, her hazel eyes filled with concern. Lapis nodded, she didn't want to lay on this dirty floor with Peridot watching. Cat walked quickly over to a small closet, she probably knew the layout of the place pretty well, which made sense considering that Amethyst had to call the odd couple almost weekly to patch up someone who worked for her.

Lapis' dark blue gaze flitted over to Peridot. The adorable girl was kneeling near her as Cat layed a towel down and moved the blue haired criminal onto it. "Peri... Can I please hold your hand?" She asked gently, Peridot nodded and held out one of her tiny pale hands. Lapis took it and lightly squeezed it, feeling the delicate little bones underneath, so fragile and easy to break.

Just like that gang leader's skull. He had almost taken Peridot away forever, he had nearly murdered this perfect human being. Lapis was his judge, jury, and definitely his executioner. Nobody would take Peridot, her star, her hope and light.

Not even death itself would take her away. Lapis would go with her, she would be with Peridot forever.

To hell with 'death do us part'.

POV SHIFT- Blue Diamond...

She stood in the center of her chamber, deep underground, listening to the deafening roar that was the silence. Her baby was gone, and had been for three years.

She dragged her hand under her right eye, looking at the water that had gathered on her fingertips. Years ago that wretched woman, Garnet, had attacked her in a desperate escape attempt. She had almost lost sight in her eye that day, the idiot doctor at the time, a small woman from Korea, had barely managed to save her sight, but was unable to fix the damage done to her tear duct.

Her right eye was constantly crying now. A permanent reminder of her humiliation... The little bitch had been sent to The Back Room for her troubles.

She walked slowly over to a desk, her cloak fluttering gently behind her. Her long fingers brushed over a framed photo. Herself as a much younger woman, along with a man. The two were smiling.

She had loved Him with everything she had, He was her heart and soul. The two had known each other since childhood, and He had promised to marry her. He had. "Till death do us part..." She murmured as she studied His face, so alive and filled with joy as He held His proud wife close. "Death is cruel, isn't it my love?" She asked.

Oh yes, death was a heartless bastard. It came in many forms, childbirth for her mother, poison for her father... A drunk driver for the one time she had ever let Him out of her sight.

And 8 months later it claimed another. 8 months all for her baby girl to die not even ten minutes after her life had begun. Blue rubbed under her eye.

It had taken so much from her, He had been her everything, He didn't care what she was, what she did to people, He had loved her even after White had carved a mark into her chest. She would do anything for Him, had murdered for Him and given Him anything He wanted.

"Love is nothing but a fucking joke." She whispered. "Well I guess the joke was on me..."

Months after her baby had died, Blue had been staying at her summer home in Hawaii when she had heard a knock at the door. When she had opened it the woman looked down to see a small baby girl sleeping peacefully in a basket with a small note.

On the front, written in blue ink: Crystal

On the back, scratched in with red ink: DEVIL CHILD

Blue had raised little Crystal as her own, taught her how to be a proper lady. She had fed the ungrateful little brat, clothed her, put a roof over her head and had given her an education.

But apparently it hadn't been enough. The stupid bitch just couldn't behave. Blue had found her at 19 years old, curled up in the corner of her bedroom, laughing loudly to herself at nothing. Crystal had broken the mirror in her room, the silver shards had made cuts in her baby's skin, staining her pink dress dark red.

So the arrogant wretch wanted to play with sharp things? Blue would give her something to laugh about. She had grabbed a shard from the floor and pinned her daughter to the ground, she had unhooked Crystal's dark blue bra, slapped her on the back of the head for wearing the colour, and began to carve.

A teardrop, Blue had given her precious child, her little baby, something she had never had before. It had hopefully sent a message: I own you, and you owe me everything for it.

She had never taught Crystal how to cook or clean, had never taught the pathetic fool how to take care of herself. Crystal had been taught to sing, she was smart, she could dance and most of the time only spoke when spoken to. She wore the clothes Blue had given her, beautiful shades of pink, expensive things.

And what had she gotten in return? An arrogant, ungrateful, psychopathic little monster.

A monster that was trying to go by a different name, Lapis Lazuli.

"Oh my dear..." Blue sighed as she picked up a bloodstained mirror shard. The same one she had used on her baby. "You'll come back to me some day, you'll return to your Mother. I'll save you, my sweet, stupid baby... I will destroy the awful, unloved, hideous creature you've created and become... And do you know what the best part of ALL of this is Crystal?" She asked as she gently moved the tip of her thumb around the sharp edge of the shard.

"It's all your fault..."


	14. Chapter 14

_**AN: If anyone went back into this story's blog, you will see that the way Yellow Diamond trains people is to use electric shocks. Now go watch the trailer for 'Wanted'. The link for the blog is in my bio!  
**_

Peridot stared down at Lapis, watching as the beautiful psycho was given a cloth to bite down on. Cottontail (or Aqua, whatever she was to be called) had gotten her wife to gently pin Lapis down, apparently the green haired doctor didn't have the mercy to use anything that would numb pain. Apparently the only reasons she was getting stitches was to make sure it healed as quickly as possible and that it wouldn't get infected. The material Aqua was using would soon simply wear away. So Lapis was suffering for nothing? That didn't seem fair.

She had chosen to hold the blue haired woman's hand. Lapis was hissing with fury as Aqua poured something onto her wound to stop it from getting infected. Peridot couldn't bear to watch this, her heart twisting into a knot when Lapis squeezed her hand tightly as Aqua went to work. The blonde started to rub at Lapis' hair in an attempt at soothing her. "It's okay Lapis, just two more stitches and that's it."

The blue haired girl tried to lean up into Peridot's hand, but was held back by Cat. "I'm sorry Lapis, but you really need to hold still." The large woman murmured, guilt filling her soft dark green eyes when Lapis screeched.

A lot of cursing and two more stitches later and Lapis was somewhat calm, Aqua had given Peridot a small bottle of painkillers. "One every two hours." She said bluntly and left with her wife, who gave a friendly wave as the two walked out.

Peridot stared at the blue haired woman before her, she was now resting on a small mattress. She gazed up at Peridot. "S-she told me it would scar..." Lapis murmured, her voice oddly meek. "I don't want it to..."

"Hey, c'mon, it's fine. Everyone has them." Said Peridot as she knelt down to sit near her. "It's okay Lapis, it'll just be small."

"Peri-baby?" Said Lapis, her thumb brushed against the palm of the Greek woman's hand. "I know you just sat down, but can I have some water? Please?" She asked, her bottom lip puffed out making her look oddly cute.

Oh god what was she thinking?! Nothing about Lapis was cute, she was a psychopath! A criminal! "Okay, just relax. I'll be right back." Said the blonde with a soft smile. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom. There were small plastic cups in there, the room echoed each time her lime green sneakers hit the floor. She saw herself reflected in the many mirrors that lined the walls.

She winced looking at her own reflection, barely recognizing herself anymore. Her hair was a mess and there was dirt on her clothes, something she was no longer used to. Along with being dirty her clothes now clung to her small body, she had lost a bit more weight recently. She remembered asking Lapis to get her some bigger clothes, and while it was true they were comfortable, they helped hide her thinning sides and kept her warm. She was having some troubles keeping warm as of a week ago.

But if she kept this up Limone would gladly take her back. She'd never had a relationship before the blonde woman, so this requirement didn't seem too odd. Relationships required sacrifice didn't they?

The blonde smiled. Limone would start calling her pretty again. She had stopped a little while before the accident.

Peridot lifted her soft bangs, lightly playing with them. A few months ago she had been working with an experimental tool that her boss had given her. She'd simply been trying to figure out how to extendable part worked when she seemed to have touched something she shouldn't have. It had backfired, hitting her in the head. It had knocked the blonde out and left a scar on her face, specifically her forehead, it had left an odd rounded triangular shape. It wasn't easy to spot, as her bangs somewhat covered it and the scar was faint to begin with. You'd have to eyes like a hawk to be able to spot it.

The small girl walked back over to the mattress without bothering to fix her hair, after all nobody would see it if they weren't looking for it. Lapis was still just laying there, staring at the ceiling and giving the occasional whimper of pain. It seemed that she needed one of those pills that Aqua had left behind. Peridot knelt down again after grabbing the medication. "H-hi sweetie." Said the Hawaiian woman, trying to smile and hold herself together.

The blonde set the cup down without a word. She wanted answers, and though this was cruel, she would get them. Peridot placed two small fingers on the lid of the bottle. "Lapis... I'm going to ask you questions, and if you answer honestly I'll open the bottle more and more. If I think you're lying I'll close it more. Do you understand?"

Lapis looked at her, dark blue eyes filling with hurt making the little blonde instantly regret doing this. She nodded though. "A-anything you want my love, anything f-for you..."

Peridot gave a nod. "Okay, first question, and look me in the eyes." She told her, Peridot was amazing with being able to tell when someone was lying to her simply by looking them in the eyes. "Why did you send all of those gifts?"

"I did it because I love you... I-I wanted you to have nice things." She turned the lid ever so slightly, opening the bottle more.

"Okay... Next. Would you hurt any of the other Mafia members?"

There wasn't even a second of hesitation as the blue haired girl responded. "No. I would never really hurt them. Rose would kill me, and besides..." Her voice shrank to a whisper. "They're... The only family I have. Please don't tell them."

The blonde nodded and kept twisting the lid. "I won't, don't worry." She reassured her friend. "Next, d-do you love me? Or just the idea of me?"

Lapis gave her a glare and growled. "Of course I love you. Don't EVER doubt that. I dream of the possibility that one day you may love a monster like me. Nothing in this world could get me to stop loving you."

Her tone had been so fierce that the younger woman had turned the bottle a bit more than she'd wanted. Lapis was being honest... Peridot could only really ask one more question.

"Lapis... Why do you love me?"

The taller girl's face softened, any anger in her had been replaced with a sweet gentleness as she put a soft hand near the blonde's foot, as if just one touch could shatter the blonde and she wouldn't take the risk. "Before I met you, everything was... Dark. Life had no meaning for me, I wasn't really living. I couldn't feel anything. I thought I knew everything about how people worked. That they were greedy and would destroy anything or anyone for power, that anyone would leave an innocent b-person at the mercy of someone who was only even more corrupt than them... Nobody cared to show anybody kindness and if they did it would be exploited." She explained, and Peridot wanted to look away.

What the hell was she doing? Lapis had been nothing but sweet and here she was, not letting this poor woman have something to ease pain...

Lapis continued. "Then I met you. This brilliant, kind girl who was so sweet to someone she didn't even know... I have never seen such purity and light in anyone before. Such perfection and so untouched, you made me feel happy, feel love... You became hope for me. You're my perfect light in a world ruled by darkness. You're so beautiful Peridot, inside and out. You're an angel, I'd do anything to make you happy or protect you."

The lid on the bottle came off with a soft pop despite the fact that her hands were now shaking. "I-I'm so sorry Lapis. Here, t-take it..."

"Wait, Peri... Why are you crying?"

POV SHIFT- Amethyst Prather

She sat beside Carnelian as the two of them watched Skinny and a few others working in the kitchen. Skinny herself was like the mother of the operation, giving out commands and making sure everybody had something to do.

The purple haired woman pulled out her phone and dialled her sisters number. She shouldn't have to be alone tonight. "Hello?" Jasper's voice was quieter than usually, a little hoarser as well. She'd been crying again. Amethyst's heart ached as she thought of her older sister, sitting all alone and staring and the 'call ended' message on her computer.

She longed for the day Bismuth would be with them. It would make Jasper happy again. "Hey sis, we burnt that bank down, and now we're all celebrating. You wanna join us? We're having a huge dinner, tons of stuff." The short girl said with an oddly gentle voice, making Carnelian's hazel eyes flash with sympathy from beside her.

She heard the sniper give a slight chuckle. "Sure, be there soon. Congrats by the way sis. I'm proud of you." Said Jasper before she hung up. Amethyst smiled, Jasper could be rough around the edges, but she was soft on the inside.

"How's she doing?" Asked Carnelian. Amethyst shrugged her shoulders before putting her phone back in her pocket near the gun attached to her belt.

"She just talked with Bismuth, I think she was crying." Carnelian's frown deepened. "She's coming over to eat with us, she'll be here soon."

The red haired woman called to her girlfriend. "Hey Skinny, Jasper's coming!" Amethyst saw the white haired girl smile.

"Finally! We haven't seen her in like a month!" Said Skinny as started to put food onto plate from her perch on the counter. This had once been a rich school, it had a large library and even a cafeteria coupled with a large kitchen. The doors between the kitchen and cafeteria had been ripped out, giving everyone easy access to travel around.

The short girl turned at the sound of a door opening, Peridot and Lapis had come in. The blue haired girl was limping a bit as Peridot held her hand, the blonde's eyes were a bit red, but since Amethyst hadn't heard any shrill screaming she guessed it was just normal crying and not the blonde waking up from a nightmare.

The two sat down near Amethyst. "Hey guys!" Carnelian chirped. "Jasper's coming over!" She said, Peridot let out a groan making Lapis look down at her.

"What's the matter baby?" She asked, her voice sweet enough for Amethyst to make a gagging noise in her head. "You know Jasper, she won't be mean to you, I won't let her."

The blonde shook her head and started to play with a napkin she'd found. "It's not that. She doesn't like me very much. I don't even know what I did!" She growled and the napkin ripped a little bit in her tiny hands.

Amethyst nodded. Peridot hadn't really done anything wrong. Jasper was just bitter that Bismuth wasn't around, and that the rainbow haired woman could be in so much danger, it seemed to be that Jasper was taking her fear-fulled anger out on the pampered blonde. That along with the fact that Lapis was paying her to watch over Peridot whenever she was away, basically making the buff woman act as Peridot's babysitter.

It seemed the feeling was a bit mutual, for whenever Jasper watched over Peridot was the only time the blonde ever acted out. She was rather nice when other people were around, but when the white haired woman was around? She would flat-out refuse to do certain things, such as eat downstairs. She always wanted to be in her room to eat. The beauty of it was that it seemed Peridot had realized how much power she possessed; as should someone try to force her to do something and beating her logic in an argument the tiny girl would threaten to tell Lapis.

Of course, the one thing Jasper could get her to do was eat dinner. Apparently Peridot really didn't like it when the tables were turned on her, as Jasper only had to say a few special words to get Peridot to simply growl and take her plate without being fussy.

'I'll tell Lazuli you aren't eating.'

Amethyst cheered happily seeing her sister walk into the room. She scooted over a little and patted the spot next to her, which Jasper sat down at. "How'd it go?" Asked the older of the two.

"It was amazing! I mean, a gang of dicks came along, but like no Diamond freaks." Said Amethyst with a proud grin. Jasper gave a chuckle and yawned softly.

"I'm guessing your gun took care of them?"

The purple haired woman nodded and smiled as she took a small bun out of a basket and started putting butter on it. "Damn right it did. I even have one bullet left." She bragged, Skinny sat down across from them, Carnelian dove under the table only to pop back up beside her girlfriend.

"Wish I'd been there." Said Skinny as she set her pistol on the table. "I coulda showed what a bullet looks like the split second before it kills you." She boasted to the others, Amethyst nodded with a laugh.

Both Skinny and Jasper were good with aim, they had excellent eyesight. Jasper even being the Mafia's sniper.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She watched anxiously as food was passed around, everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Lapis had her food already, and pushed a bowl of pasta over to her. "Here sweetie, dinner." She said, but the Greek woman shook her head with a nervous smile.

"Sorry Lapis, I'm not really that hungry-" She stopped talking and her face flushed red with shame as her stomach growled loudly. Lapis' dark blue eyes narrowed as she gave a sharp glare.

There was only one circumstance in which Lapis would get mad at her. This was it. "Peridot, I don't like it when you do this. You're lying to me, which is already bad, and you need to eat. You barely ate lunch and have had nothing since. Eat your dinner."

Peridot's heart plummeted. "Please don't make me... Lapis I hate this..."

"No you don't, you've said before that you love pasta." Said the blue haired woman, her eyes filled with confusion. "Peridot what's the matter? Why don't you want dinner? You like pasta with alfredo sauce, you said it's your favourite..."

Peridot nodded, it was. "I-it is... But I can't eat stuff like this."

"Why not?"

Everyone else had gone dead silent, many of them were looking at the young woman, who was wishing she could curl up under a bed forever. "I don't... I don't want to be chubby anymore..."

Skinny piped up fro her spot. "Kid, trust me you're not. You're fine, c'mon eat dinner with us."

Peridot shook her head, convinced that the white haired woman was lying to her. "No, stop. I'm fine just-"

From right near her Jasper growled. "You're anything but fine." She huffed. "I have to threaten you into eating if I'm watching you." She looked at Lapis with a look of fake surprise. "Oh sorry! Guess I should have told you huh? She throws a hissy fit if we try to get her to eat when you aren't around and the only way to get her to is to say we'll tell you."

Peridot couldn't handle looking up enough to see Lapis' face, but her voice sounded heartbroken. "Peridot no... You're perfect just the way you are, if this is something SHE told you she's lying. Peridot please eat at least a bit, you're scaring me."

The Greek woman felt a hand tap her shoulder, she turned to its direction to see Jasper's eyes staring back at her. "Look you and I don't get along well, but you listen here and listen good. Don't ever let anyone, I don't care if you date them or not I mean ANYONE warp the way you see yourself. Got that?" The white haired criminal didn't look aggressive, but oddly protective. "I can tell just by looking at you, you're underweight and it's making you sick."

Peridot's eyes filled with tears but Jasper kept going. "I imagine you've looked in the mirror-" She stopped talking, mouth open still. Her large fingers (or maybe they were normal, and Peridot was just that small) brushed her forehead, specifically pushing her bangs, which she hadn't smoothed back down, away from the faint scar.

"You're one of them... Aren't you?" Jasper asked, her almost golden eyes now empty of the odd protectiveness and filling with a poisonous hatred. "You have a scar."

All at once, everyone rose from their spot, Peridot included from fear. About 25 guns were now trained on her. The blonde let out a terrified sob as Lapis tried and failed to get up from her spot. "Leave her alone!" The blue haired girl screamed with fear and rage.

"She's a goddamn pet Lapis! Look at her forehead, the little shit has a scar!"

Lapis turned to look at Peridot, she cupped the small girl's face in one hand and peered closely before her dark blue eyes widened in horror. "No... Please god no..."

"What did I do?!" Peridot cried out as tears slipped down her face, she was shaking as she stared at all the angry criminals, guns out and ready to murder her at any second.

"Spy!" Carnelian...

"Diamond Pet!" Skinny...

"Traitor!" Amethyst...

"I knew it! I knew you were bad news!" Jasper... "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you and NOW look where we are!"

"No!" Lapis? "Don't hurt her please!" Peridot looked up at her from her spot where she had fallen back on the floor. "Leave her alone!"

"Shut it Lapis!" Amethyst snarled as she kept her revolver pointed to the direction of Peridot's throat, one pull of the trigger and the blonde would be dead. "Peridot! Who did you work for before this?!"

"She worked for-"

"Y-y-yellow D-diamond..."

Jasper stepped forward, the end of her gun now between Peridot's breasts. "Give me one fucking reason I shouldn't shoot you here and now."

"W-what did I do? I-I-I was just a mechanic, s-she took me off the streets! Why is that b-bad?" She sobbed, Jasper didn't move.

"How did you get that mark!?" She roared, and the others were starting to close in around her. Lapis was screaming for it all to stop.

"I-I was just working with something she gave me! She told me t-to test something but it cut my forehead!" Peridot was bawling as she looked at the buff woman who could end her life with a single motion. "It left a scar, please you have to believe me!"

At that moment Lapis had finally made her way over to the terrified woman. She pulled her close and Peridot buried her face into her side. "Jasper, it's the truth. Pearl looked through her records, she was sent to the hospital because it knocked her out. She's not their pet, she's not a spy. Yellow Diamond manipulated her and lied to her, she uses fake names for her businesses, you know that!" Lapis snapped and hugged the blonde tightly.

Peridot could hear them setting their guns down or putting them away. "Sis." Said Amethyst. "You believe that?"

She heard Jasper give a long sigh. "If she was a pet, they wouldn't let her out here... They need to break them first."

Peridot was shivering as Lapis gently rubbed her back. "Shh sweetheart, it's okay. You're not a traitor my love, not a spy or pet. You're safe now." She cooed sweetly before grabbing a tiny plate of food. "Now eat your dinner and we'll go to bed, okay?"

Scared out of her mind, Peridot nodded and started to eat. Lapis gently brushed her fingers over the blonde's soaked face. "T-thank you Lapis, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, it'll be okay. Just relax, and eat your supper. I promise this will all be over soon."


	15. Chapter 15

_**AN: Warning for really, REALLY dark themes.**_

Peridot let out a sob as Lapis held her close. "Oh my love I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve that at all." She whispered.

The blonde looked up at her. "I thought they liked me, I thought they were my friends..." She sniffled before another soft cry came as she nuzzled her face into the Hawaiian girl's neck. "I don't even know what I did wrong..."

Lapis stroked her hair with one hand while patting her back with the other. "You didn't do anything wrong sweetie, it was a misunderstanding." She cooed before laying Peridot down on the bed. They were now sitting in an old classroom that had everything cleared out, it was filled with bunk beds now. The two were sitting on a top bunk in the corner of the room, as far away from the others as possible.

Peridot would sleep on the top, and Lapis would sleep on the bottom unless the tiny blonde requested otherwise. Speaking of which, Lapis got the feeling that Peridot was becoming overtired, which was making her crying worse. It was the middle of the night, even she was exhausted but if Peridot wanted her to stay up she would. "I wanna go home Lapis... This bed isn't comfy, it's scratchy a-and-" The Greek woman cut herself off as she started to cough, her sobbing and wailing was making it harder to properly breathe.

Lapis scooped her back up and began to pat her back again as Peridot shivered from the cold air in the room. "Shh Peri-baby... Just breathe okay? You need to relax." She said, and slowly Peridot's cries became hiccupy whimpers. "We'll go home in the morning. I promise. But you need to go to bed now sweetheart, I'll make it more comfortable for you okay?"

She felt the small woman give a shaky nod before she was placed back down. Lapis climbed down the ladder and over to a closet, limping and fully aware of the fact that the cut on her leg could scar. She opened up the closet and dug through it. The blue haired girl smiled seeing one of her old hoodies, grey and soft. She had gotten it back when she didn't care for her own appearance, and certainly didn't care nowadays if she cut it.

She reached over to her purse, which she had placed on the table before dinner, and found her knife. At first she thought she should take some care in how she sliced down the large sweater but upon hearing Peridot start to whimper her name and ask her what she was doing she had simply sliced it down the middle.

After putting her knife back Lapis limped back over to the bed before climbing the ladder with shockingly little difficulty. "Here princess, I know the cotton probably doesn't feel very nice, so I got this. It's very soft, so you can lay on it okay?" She spoke with a very soft tone, to be sweet and reassuring. She hoped.

"Okay, thank you Lapis..." Said Peridot with a small yawn. Lapis smiled a little and layed the sweater on the cotton bed. Of course Peridot wouldn't like this, she was used to the silky feeling of the expensive sheets and blankets at home. The little blonde was wearing a white nightgown that reached her ankles, and had reluctantly taken off her necklace. "Please don't tease me for what I'm about to say..."

"I wouldn't dream of it sweetheart."

Peridot seemed to squirm as she looked around the room, Lapis' eyes were better adjusted to the dark then hers. "I... I kind of like being snuggled, i-it makes me feel safer. Can you-"

Lapis immediately layed down beside her, the poor thing had dark circles under her eyes. "Of course I can. You're safe, I won't let them hurt you."

The blonde curled up before looking at her, her large green eyes filled with a sweet innocence. "Promise?"

"Promise."

POV SHIFT- Pearl Oiseau

She sat on the couch with a large bowl of cold popcorn, she and Sheena had gone to their home after Amethyst and the others had left. It was late at night but the two lovers weren't tired in the slightest. The peach haired woman had snuggled herself up to Sheena, who had an arm around her.

"Your phone buzzed." Sheena murmured before picking up the small cellphone off of the floor. Pearl gave a soft groan and look at her new message.

Amethyst: P I need you not to freak out

Pearl: What did you do?

Amethyst: we fucked up really bad... scared the crap outta poor P-dot

She swore she could feel her blood pressure rising.

Pearl: WHAT DID YOU DO?

Amethyst: so Jasper found that she has this scar on her forehead, and we thought she was a Diamond pet

Oh, so that incident had led to a scar. All she knew was that it had made an odd cut.

Pearl: She's not it was a work accident. Amethyst Prather what the hell happened over there? Do I have to call Rose?

Amethyst: no good god please don't call her

Amethyst: we... we all pointed our guns at her and started screaming...

Pearl: AMETHYST!

Amethyst: she's okay!

Pearl: Define okay.

Amethyst: uh... She hasn't stopped crying and we may have set progress back to day one.

It took every bit of willpower not to throw her phone across the room.

Pearl: Fix it. All of you. Right now. Let her know we don't hate her, that she's our friend.

Amethyst: We're making a cake. Don't know if she'll eat it but we also want to explain. Like everything.

Pearl: Go right ahead. I want you all to apologize. From now on we do all missions of this nature together.

Pearl: And NO weapons at the dinner table.

Amethyst: yes Pearl. We're all really sorry.

"Why did I ever let those toddlers go on their own?!" Pearl screamed with frustration as she put her phone back onto the ground. Sheena sighed.

"I read the texts, poor kiddo." Said the pink haired woman. "I guess Jasper won't be watching her anymore. I'll do it though, Peridot's not hard to care for."

Pearl leaned into her side. "I'm worried... It scares me to think that one day we could all wake up and Peridot will be nothing more than Lapis' pretty toy..." She spoke softly as she remembered her past.

She had only been a child then, she and her triplet sisters. Azul was the youngest, shy but oddly tomboyish, not to mention her eyesight was somewhat poor. Jaune was the middle child, she had a bit of a temper but she was loyal and clever. Pearl herself was the oldest, her name had been Blanche.

They had been homeless with their parents since age 13 before becoming orphans at age 15. Though she hadn't been truly that much older (she was older than Jaune by 8 minutes, and Azul by 14 minutes) Blanche had felt a duty to protect her sisters.

Pearl supposed in hindsight that her motherly nature might have played a part in her downfall. Rose Quartz had found the three sisters in an alleyway during a trip to France. She had been so kind, so sweet to all of them. Rose had brought them with her back to America. None of them had known what horrors awaited.

It turned out Rose had been in training to become a new Diamond, but she was sheltered, she hadn't known what the Diamonds did to innocent people. They took people who by their terms 'wouldn't be missed' and turned them into pets.

There were four Diamonds. White, Yellow, Blue, and Pink. White Diamond had taken a slight interest in Blanche, as had Pink. They had decided to share her as a servant, a pearl. White had needed her for cooking and cleaning, Pink had wanted her for an odd play thing to dress in rather... Revealing outfits... Yellow had taken a liking to Jaune, her hotheaded spirit might have seemed oddly cute, and she would use her as a sort of secretary. Blue was the odd one, the only Diamond who had a child at home. She had used Azul and turned her into a maid.

One day the three of them had gotten sick of being treated like worthless toys or tools, and had tried to escape the cage the three of them slept in. By that time her sisters appearances were starting to change. Azul had been made to look girly while Jaune, a once rather curvy girl, was starting to thin out. They had tried to escape only to be caught by guards.

Azul had been shoved into a pool filled with ice water and was almost drowned, Jaune had been given repeated electrical shocks before being locked in a tiny cage and being denied almost all food. But for Blanche? The one who had come up with the idea to save and protect her sisters? She had been sent to the Back Room.

Three months later she was desperately trying to hide her pregnancy. But the sharp-eyed Pink had noticed. Though the chance for a child had been forced on her Blanche would have loved and raised it. But she was not able to...

Aqua had been working for the Diamonds at the time as a doctor, the nervous woman had been forced to not only terminate Blanche's pregnancy, but to sterilize her as well... Pearl still remembered to this day the tears that ran down Aqua's face as she was forced to carry out her orders, the 'I'm so sorry' that she repeated softly on a loop as the doctor tried to keep from breaking down. She would never forget the smile on Pink Diamonds face.

"Pearl, Pearl what's wrong?" Sheena was talking to her now. Pearl's hand rested just below her navel and she could feel hot tears run down her face. "Oh sweetheart come here." She whispered and brought the smaller woman into her lap to hug her gently.

Pearl relaxed into Sheena's embrace. Her lover knew about everything that had happened in that facility.

"Easy now, you're safe with me. You aren't in there anymore, you're home on the couch." Sheena spoke softly and rubbed the back of her neck. "We're safe together."

Pearl looked at her after taking a few deep breaths. Sheena gently kissed her tears away. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

POV SHIFT- Selena Rodriguez

Skinny sat on the counter in the kitchen, the others around the white haired woman were silent. Their eyes filled with guilt and shame. "What the hell did we do..." Skinny could hear Carnelian mutter.

Amethyst looked over at them. "We had a stupid knee-jerk reaction, that's what." She sighed. "Look at us... Just the thought of a possibility of being a pet again and we go fucking insane..." The purple haired girl hopped up onto a table and held her head in one hand while she looked over at Skinny. "How much longer?"

Skinny checked her phone and gave a slight smile. "15 minutes Boss." She said as her girlfriend scrambled up to sit with her. They were making a small cake for Peridot as an attempt at apologizing.

Carnelian looked at Skinny, her bright and curious eyes shining in the lights of the kitchen. "Do you think she'll even eat it?" Asked the redhead, "I mean she wouldn't eat pasta before, what makes ya think she'll want cake?"

"Well even if she doesn't want to, it's chocolate, which should at least make Lapis a bit happier." Skinny explained. Carnelian nodded and started to play with her fluffy hair. She was too cute for her own good sometimes.

"Yeah uh, speaking of our resident psychopath, what the hell are we gonna do about her?" Jasper asked and looked around at the others. Everyone started to look rather nervous. "Laz isn't fucking around when she says she wants revenge on somebody."

Carnelian moved closer to Skinny, she wrapped an arm protectively around her girlfriend. The redhead sighed. "We're screwed."

"Ah c'mon Carny don't say that, even if she's upset Peridot wouldn't let Lapis go psycho on us... Right?"

The lights chose a very convenient time to go out.

They now huddled together. "Lapis, buddy? Take it easy, we're sorry!" Said Jasper. There was a soft giggle from the darkness followed by a loud crunch and shatter.

Lapis had broken the only flashlight. Skinny took out her phone and turned its flashlight on. She surveyed the area, but Lapis was nowhere to be seen. "You hurt My Peri..." The Hawaiian woman's voice was soft yet anything but pleasant. Skinny felt chills up her spine. "Now I hurt you..."

It was only for a single second that the light of Skinny's phone shone onto the blue haired woman, Lapis had a sickening smile, her eyes were wide open and seemed to gleam with hatred. She sprang onto Jasper with a scream of rage. "You tried to kill her!" Lapis shrieked. "She's my everything!"

Jasper tried to pull her off, her amber eyes wide. "Lapis it was a mistake!" The white haired woman roared and kept trying to knock Lapis out, or hit one of her pressure points. Jasper was strong but Lapis was fast and tricky.

Skinny watched in horror, paralysed with terror as the two women wrestled around on the kitchen floor, it was dark other than the light of her phone. Lapis spat curses as Jasper almost pinned her to the floor, but she shook her off and hissed softly.

"How would you feel if I did the same to Bismuth?" Lapis asked, her voice dangerous and low. "But I guess it would be bad to hurt the people you love. After all, you're a human being who feels pain, I'm just Blue Diamond's little monster aren't I?"

Amethyst shouted from where she seemed to have been frozen from fear. "No, w-we don't think like that!" She stuttered out.

The blue haired girl laughed harshly, the awful noise echoing throughout the room sending chills down Skinny's spine. "You can't even fucking SAY it! You couldn't care less about if I get hurt! Peridot's the only person who gives a damn about me, and you almost MURDERED HER!" Lapis screamed, "She thought you were her friends!"

The lights came back on, Carnelian had managed to reopen the power box after Lapis had quietly taped it shut, and turned everything back on. Skinny swore it felt like there were times when the blue haired criminal could move without making a sound. Jasper managed to shove Lapis off of her, but before she could attack again there was a soft voice from the doorway. "Lapis?"

Peridot was standing there, a white nightgown reaching her ankles and an old hoodie that she seemed to be wearing like a sort of cape, the sleeves tied loosely around her neck. Her tiny hands gripped the ends of the sleeves tightly as though they were a lifeline. One of her hands moved to her face to rub at her eyes from under her glasses and she seemed to stifle a yawn. "W-what's going on?" The tiny blonde asked sleepily.

Lapis froze in place. "Peri-baby... Why are you out of bed?" Her voice was shaking, Peridot had apparently never seen her lose control before. "You should be sleeping... Did y-you have a nightmare?"

The blonde shook her head, shaking a little as she gazed at the others in the room. "No, I just woke up. I saw that you weren't there and..." Her bottom lip quivered and Skinny could hear a quiet sniffle. "I'm sorry."

At that moment the blue haired woman made her way to Peridot and gently hugged her. "No sweetie, it's okay please don't be sorry. I should have stayed with you." She scooped Peridot up into her arms and rubbed her back. "Please don't cry my love, it breaks my heart to see you so upset..." The white haired girl watched as Peridot seemed to almost instinctively wrap her arms around her neck with a soft relaxed sigh.

Skinny went over to the oven, her hands were shaking and her phone now had a tiny crack in its screen from how tightly she'd been holding it. Damn, and she had just gotten it. The white haired girl pulled the cake out of the oven and placed it on the counter. "Peridot?" She said softly, the little blonde turned her head to look at her. Lapis gave a seething glare, warning Skinny not to come closer.

"We're so sorry for what we did. We feel really bad." She explained, beside her Carnelian spoke up.

"Yeah, that was awful! We never should've done that, it was really stupid..." The redhead shuffled her feet and looked down. "And uh... We kinda have some explaining to do..."

Peridot looked at them from where her face had nuzzled into Lapis' shoulder. "What is it?" She asked cautiously, many others around the room began to sit down on the floor, Skinny herself included. After a few moments Lapis sat as well, placing the tiny blonde on her lap.

"Who wants to start?" Asked Carnelian, all eyes turned to the redhead. She stiffened a bit. "Ah come on, why do I always have to go first?!"

Jasper gave a soft chuckle. "You started talkin' first."

Carnelian sighed heavily and rested her head against Skinny's arm. "Fine. Mine isn't all that eventful though." She muttered but Peridot seemed to be extremely interested, her big green eyes filled with curiosity.

The redhead took a deep breath. "My brother was well... He was hooked on something the Diamonds were selling him..." She spoke with a somber tone, Skinny pulled her closer. "He ran outta money one day, and the youngest one, the little witch, she tried to get him to either work for the Diamonds. I couldn't let that happen to him, y'know? H-he was my only brother..."

Peridot nodded, now slightly concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked, Carnelian nodded softly and continued.

"So I said I'd do it. I'd work for her. She gave him money and took me. But here's the thing, they have a certain... 'Practice' over in Diamond Authority. They mark us, as you probably saw. They burn or cut scars into us..."

Skinny winced internally, as if she could feel Pink's heated blade pressing down on her skin all over again. "They mark us to claim us as their pets. That's why we freaked when we saw your scar." She explained. Peridot gingerly touched her fingers to her forehead where her scar was now covered by her bangs.

The tiny blonde blushed when Lapis pressed a little kiss to the top of her head. According to Amethyst, Lapis was testing to see how much Peridot would allow her to do, forehead or top-of-head kisses were allowed it seemed, as long as they were quick.

"Well the Diamond with me didn't really know how to carve a mark into someone, so they had the third one show her how..." She turned to show the scar on her arm, Peridot gasped a little.

"Did it hurt?" It seemed Peridot was rather innocent to certain things. How cruel a human could be towards another was one of them.

Carnelian nodded. "Yeah, they don't bother trying to spare you any pain. The only doctors they have are so mishandled their minds break, they don't let them use painkillers or anything, even punish them if they can't fix something the way they want."

"Why were there doctors if they didn't c-care about you?"

Jasper lifted her hand. "I'll go next. I know this better than anyone." Said the buff woman, Carnelian gave a massive sigh of relief and hugged Skinny tightly.

She rubbed her girlfriend's back soothingly. "It's okay. I've got you Carny. She can't hurt you."

POV SHIFT- Jasper Redimido

She was sitting rather close to Lapis and Peridot, the blue haired woman seemed to have been calmed by the blonde's presence. She was holding her close and gently stroking the side of her face with her nails, Peridot was starting to look sleepy.

"You listening kid?" Jasper asked, her eyes opened a little wider. So she was paying attention, good.

"Alright. Here goes." Said the white haired woman, but before she started she leaned over to whisper at Amethyst. Her younger sister was looking at the floor. Jasper knew she didn't like telling her story. "Amethyst, if you want me to talk for you, I will. How's that sound?"

Amethyst nodded slowly. "Thanks sis."

Jasper sighed slowly. "It all started years ago..."

She had been young when the strange little girl had moved into the neighbourhood. She was younger than Jessibelle, with short fluffy brown hair. She always wore little pink dresses and skirts no matter the weather and she never smiled. Her mother was an odd woman too, but Jessibelle hadn't been thinking of that, all she'd been thinking about was that her little sister Violet could finally have a playmate her age.

But the girl, Crystal, she didn't care for people her own age. She wanted to talk to older people the way her mother had taught, no... Trained her to do. So Jessibelle had gone to the little weirdo's house. Things were somewhat normal sometimes, they would sit and read or draw together. Jessibelle would always snicker softly as Blue Diamond forced Crystal to sit at the table and do homework she hated.

It took Jasper too long to realize that something about the Diamond family was very, very wrong.

One day as Crystal had stayed in her backyard trying to make herself care about the neighbours cat, Jessibelle had been walking around with her younger sister. Violet was a smart kid, bit of a daredevil sometimes, which Jessibelle was proud to say she had influenced.

But she was glad she hadn't influenced Violet too much, for Jessibelle had dropped out of high school right before her final year. Her parents were absolute druggies, they could no longer be damned to take care of their children, so to buff girl had been forced to pick up the slack.

But one day, years ago, she had simply been walking around and minding her own business when she had almost bumped into a tall and frankly quite pretty pink haired woman who looked to be her age. The two had laughed about it and chatted for a few minutes, everyone in the neighbourhood was rather friendly. She learned that the woman's name was Pink Diamond.

As a few more years went on things got worse. Her parents had fully run out of money, Violet couldn't go on to college, and Crystal had become distant. Although Jessibelle had the feeling she was in her own little world half the time anyway.

But something good had come out of it. Pink had asked her out on a date, and the two seemed to have a wonderful relationship. Pink was extremely wealthy due to the family business she had going with her sisters, and she hoped would someday soon her niece would join them. It hadn't really occurred to Jessibelle that if she married Pink, she would be Crystal's aunt.

Even nowadays Jasper (or Lapis) couldn't (or wouldn't) acknowledge it.

They had a plan, Violet and Jessibelle would move in with Pink one day to live with her.

One seemingly ordinary fall afternoon there was a knock at the door. Her mother and father owed a lot of money to the ones selling to them. Money none of them had.

The woman at the door, the cruel bitch dressed in all white, had told them that of they could have a bountiful supply of whatever they wanted as long as she was given was presented with a valuable gift. Two new performers for shows they put on.

Her parents had agreed before the witch could even finish her sentence.

Oh the horror Jessibelle felt shaking her soul to its core when she stepped out of the woman's car to see Pink there, her girlfriend had the smuggest smirk on her face. Pink Diamond absolutely loved watching shock and pain flood through someone who was already nervous.

For the first time in there lives the sisters were separated. Pink Diamond promised her that if she behaved her little sister would not be hurt. She allowed Pink to carve marks on her nose, it stung but she didn't dare scream for fear Violet would be hurt.

Violet had been locked into a cage with two other women. One who was named Selena Rodriguez, a homeless thief who Yellow Diamond had caught and 'rehabilitated' by being given a small place to live and a job only to be taken to the facility a little while after. The other woman?

Jessibelle had killed her.

Pets were used for such sickening things, there were personal ones known as pearls, ones for testing out substances, some used for the Back Room, which nobody talked about, and then there was the fighting area.

It was a large area, where many pets were dragged in with chains and whipped until they'd listen to the single order given by whichever Diamond would be sitting amongst the crowd of screaming, cheering people. "Kill each other."

Three little words was all it took for five innocent people to die in a senseless bloodbath. And the crowd went wild...

The buff woman would be damned if this was how she was going to die. She quite literally fought tooth and nail to kill any other pet that tried to attack her. She was shockingly strong, and her aggression had forced the guards to chain her up in a personal cell. Right across from Crystal, the now giggly homicidal young woman who was known as 'Next Blue Diamond' and to rip out the throat of anyone who dared try to get too close. Crystal was truly lost in her own little world.

Violet stayed in her cage with the other girl. The Diamonds had been trying to recruit a new member, a woman named Rose. She was oblivious to just how badly the human pets had been treated. She was to be given Violet as an Initiation Pet, to show the Diamonds how she would train the stubborn little woman to follow her commands. When simply asking her and gentle encouragement were the wrong answers, one of the Diamonds had taken the matter into her own hands.

White had grabbed a small blade and pinned Violet to the floor whilst Rose screamed as Pink and Blue held her back. Yellow stood by and watched, for it seemed she did not like her sisters very much. White had clamped a hand down on her little sister's throat and nearly choked her to death as she carved a mark into her chest.

It was that day that Rose had finally had enough.

Jasper could feel tiny arms slip around her own. Peridot was hugging her arm best she could, her legs were wobbling and she yawned softly. "I'm s-sorry Jasper... I-I get it now..." She murmured as Lapis pulled her to sit back down, the little blonde curling up in her arms.

Many of them rose from their spots at that moment, Jasper helping Lapis to her feet. "Thanks for not mentioning... Me." The blue haired woman muttered, while Jasper had remembered the parts of her story that had Crystal in them so vividly Lapis preferred to keep that part of her life sealed away.

She saw Skinny put the cake in the fridge as they all made their way to the classroom turned bedroom. The buff woman watched Lapis calmly climb up to Peridot's bed before the blonde whispered something. Lapis smiled and cuddled Peridot until she had fallen asleep.

Jasper listened to the sound of the others snoring around her, despite all of the noise it was peaceful. She really hoped Peridot had truly taken all of that in.

She also hoped that this calm wasn't simply giving way to a much larger storm.


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: A little warning for abuse. It's not Limone and Peri this time. Also a lot of drinking.**_

"Mommy? Daddy?" Olive called out in a quiet voice as she walked through her huge house, a flashlight gripped tightly in one of her tiny hands, her other hand had to hold part of her nightgown, it was too long and it threatened to make her trip and fall.

It was dark, and it was raining, the little girl prayed with everything she had that it wouldn't storm. She was terrified of them, they were just as bad back in Greece as they were in Canada. "Mommy..." Olive whimpered into the darkness, her flashlight wasn't working right, it kept flickering and letting shadows dance around the terrified child.

There was a light on downstairs in the kitchen, Olive made her way down the stairs, flinching and clinging to the railing with a scared squeak when she heard the distant rumble of thunder. She was only 5 years old, the world was so big and scary to her, it didn't help that the airplane that brought them to Canada had flown through a thunderstorm.

She could hear her mommy and daddy from where she had peeked her head in through the dining room doorway. They weren't happy. "Nora for fuck's sake I told you!" Olive's daddy shouted, he looked tired. "I told you last week the bill needed to be paid!"

Olive didn't know who 'Bill' was, but he was taking a lot of their money, her mommy and daddy took turns paying 'Bill'. Her mommy didn't like having to take her turn, she loved money. A lot.

"You know what Percival? Maybe if you got a better job we wouldn't be in this fucking mess!" She screamed, Olive covered her ears whenever her mommy or daddy said a bad word. The small blonde's big brothers always took her out for ice cream if they were fighting during the day.

Liam, Micheal and Nathan. Olive's big brothers and only friends, she was called 'runt of the litter', she had no clue what that meant. They loved her so much, she was their baby sister. Even if they were too big to play with her without accidentally hurting her she loved them and could always be found toddling after them.

Nathan was the youngest boy at 11 years old, he let Olive hide under his bed when it was storming, but his door was locked. Every door was locked. Why? They were never locked...

"It's not my fault, you know that! Business is always bad in the summer!" He hissed at Olive's mommy, she was really mean to him sometimes. But he stayed because of Olive and her brothers, he always said that relationships needed sacrifice.

But how much was too much?

"So what? You want me to just shut up? You'd like that wouldn't you? You don't even love me!"

He looked so scared Olive wanted to hug his long legs and try to reach up to wipe away the tears that were starting to fall from his bright green eyes. She hated seeing people cry. "No, Nora please don't say that... Honey you know I love you, please don't leave me... You know what? I-I can pay the bill, it's fine..."

Her mommy smiled now. "See Percival? You should've just done it from the start, and you KNOW I'm right."

He nodded, the messy bangs of his fluffy blonde hair that looked just like Olive's seemed to cast a shadow over his eyes. A loud clap of thunder shook the house, the little girl screamed and ran up the stairs, her flashlight left behind as she had dropped it in her panic.

"Olive? Sweetie is that you?" Her daddy called out, the tiny blonde wriggled under her own bed and started to shake as the rain came down harder. "Baby-girl it's okay, where are you? Why were you out of bed?" He was looking for her now, but why? Didn't he know she would go to her room?

The rain stopped. Everything was dead silent.

There was the sound of soft footsteps coming up stairs. "Sweetheart? Where are you?" Called a woman's voice, she didn't know who it was.

The footsteps reached her room, the blonde couldn't see any feet in front of her bed. "I know you're under there. Come out now." The woman ordered. "I want to see you."

The Greek girl wiggled out of her hiding spot, everything was so dark, she could barely see anything. Where was the woman? And who was she? There was the sound of something shattering, like a mirror...

"I've been forgotten, pushed aside, ignored, replaced… Left to rot in my cell. She made me this way..."

A dark shape slithered out of the shadows. It had short, messy hair and glowing blue eyes, with a bloodstained mouth that split into a wide smile of sharp teeth, it had deep blue claws, with bleeding cuts all over its skin. "Don't be afraid..."

It spoke with such a soft and beautiful voice while its hand curled under her chin, around her throat. "This is all just a bad dream..."

"AND YOU'RE NEVER WAKING UP!"

Peridot sat straight up in bed with a scream, her skin was drenched with cold sweat and there were tears streaked down her face. Her chest heaved and her heart was racing, what had attacked her? She didn't recognize it...

She only saw Lapis' face for a split second when she looked at her. The blue haired girl's face was flushed red and for some reason she couldn't seem to be able to look Peridot in the eyes. She must have just woken up too, because her breathing sounded a little... Funny.

Lapis immediately held her close to her chest. "Shh, Peri it's okay." Peridot pushed her thoughts aside and buried her face in Lapis' chest, shaking like a leaf as she clung desperately to the blue haired woman. "You just had a nightmare my love, everything is okay. I've got you, I'm right here princess."

"I-it wasn't o-one of the bad ones..." Peridot murmured, her voice slightly muffled. The bad ones were the night terrors that would have her sobbing and needing Lapis to soothe her back to sleep with a lullaby.

"That doesn't matter. I'll always be here Peri, no matter what happens I'll be with you." She whispered into the Greek woman's ear and gently pet her hair. "My beautiful Peri, my precious little angel."

Peridot started to blush from Lapis' compliments, her fear melting away. "T-thank you." She muttered and wiggled up to try and rest her head on the blue haired girl's shoulder, but Lapis held her in tightly in place, she could hear the criminal's heartbeat, it was oddly fast. What was she dreaming about?

"I'm just being honest sweetie. I love you so much." Said the taller girl as she started rubbing Peridot's back. "Come on, I'll take you into the kitchen. We're going to eat breakfast, and then wait for Garnet to pick us up and bring us to Funland."

Peridot was exhausted beyond belief. "What's breakfast?" She asked in a tired mumble, Lapis giggled.

"It's that meal you eat after waking up, silly girl. The most important one apparently. I like dinner or dessert much better."

Peridot smiled a bit. "I meant to ask what's FOR breakfast." Lapis made a fake noise of surprise.

"Oh! I get it now, why didn't you say so?" She asked and Peridot started to giggle. "Hmm... Maybe there's a cute little blonde on the menu!" Peridot squealed feeling the Hawaiian woman's fingers start to tickle her sides and stomach.

"N-no!" She shrieked and squirmed. "That tickles!"

Lapis seemed to be pretending not to hear her. "I wonder what you taste best with, princess. I mean, you're very sweet."

"N-nothing! I-I'm not food!" Peridot squealed loudly and wiggled around, giggling like a child. "Mercy!" The tiny blonde squeaked, Lapis stopped and held her close, keeping a hand on her back to stop her from falling away from her lap. "Not fair, my body's sensitive!" She whined as Lapis seemed to be trying to hold back a snort.

"I know, I'm sorry angel. Come on let's go eat some breakfast, the food here is always good." Lapis' fingers rubbed the back of her hair and futility tried to smooth some of her hair down.

' _Oh you poor thing, you haven't quite caught on yet, that ship sailed YEARS ago.'_ Peridot thought to herself, even her stubborn father had given up trying to tame her hair all those years ago. The small woman hopped off the bed and yawned. "Where's my necklace?" She asked as she rubbed at her eyes.

Lapis climbed down the ladder easily, it seemed she was already starting to heal nicely. She walked over to a table and began to dig through a navy blue bag. She pulled out Peridot's necklace and twirled her finger, asking wordlessly for the younger woman to turn around. Peridot did so, shivering when the cold silver chain brushed her neck, but grinning at the sight of the pale green heart shaped stone that now laid just above her cleavage. "There you go princess, you look so beautiful. I'm glad you like your necklace."

Peridot blushed at the compliment, and looked up at her friend. Lapis had a shy smile, the blonde gave her a bright grin. "It's really pretty, thank you." She chirped happily, she had no idea why her mood was so good, not that she was complaining of course! Lapis took her hand gently and led her down the hall, only when the two were leaving the room did the Greek woman notice that nobody else was sleeping in their beds, it had been only her and Lapis. At least when she screamed she hadn't woken anyone up.

She could make out a punk rock song she didn't know song on the radio from inside the kitchen, the sweet scent of syrup mixed with the savoury smells of bacon and fried potatoes, not to mention the rich scent of... Pumpkins?

"Who wants pumpkin pancakes?!" Skinny shouted over the music to the others, who were darting around to clean plates and counters, cook meals on the many stoves, pass things around and put them away, make drinks, and laugh at horrible puns.

Amethyst had been sitting on a long pale grey table, a plate of tiny powdered donuts in her hand, the other had been raised into the air, waving like a small flag. "Me! I want some!" The short woman called, Peridot watched as Lapis grabbed two paper plates before plucking two donuts from Amethyst's plate. "Hey!"

"It's not even yours, it's where all the treat foods go." Said the blue haired girl with a smirk. She pointed to a long table and gave Peridot a pleasant smile. "Princess, you go sit down, okay? I'll get our food." She spoke in a sugary sweet voice that made the blonde blush and nod.

She slowly walked across the room, careful not to make anyone trip or smack into her. The Greek woman hopped up onto the bench at the long white table, which a woman who looked startlingly like Amethyst was cleaning up. Her long pale lilac hair was lighter than Amethyst's, not to mention it had a few ringlets, she was taller and more muscular too. Peridot was polite enough not to stare, but the woman had a dark purple eye-patch over one of her eyes.

The blonde gave a friendly little wave to the woman, who grinned cheerfully as she finished cleaning the table. "Morning Blondie." She said before walking off to clean the other tables, there were a few sauce stains from last night.

Speaking of last night, she was starting to see these people in a whole new light. She would've been intimidated if she had seen the woman with the eye-patch enter her old shop, but now she wanted to hug her.

Lapis came back quickly and sat across from her, she pushed a plate over to the young blonde. It was filled with different kinds of food. Bacon, scrambled eggs, strawberries, biscuits with jam, a donut, and a few pumpkin pancakes covered in syrup. The smell alone was enough to make her mouth water, her stomach was growling though, in embarrassment Peridot tucked her arms in and tried to curl up. It was hurting a lot lately, not to mention how easily she'd been getting lightheaded.

She watched her friend's expression shift, her smile faded and her eyes, once happy simply at the sight of Peridot, were now filled with worry and sadness."Peri, you have to eat your breakfast. You can't keep doing this to yourself, please sweetheart... I love you too much to let you do this..."

Peridot looked at the plate across from her, it had the exact same amount of food that hers did. Lapis continued speaking, "Listen please baby, I'm giving us the same amount of food, okay?" She asked, the blonde nodded without a word. "For every bite you take, I'll take. That way we're eating the same amount of food."

At that moment her heart filled with a very strange feeling, it started to beat faster, and her mind raced. She knew Lapis meant this, but she didn't want Lapis to starve! In a physical way she was everything society said was beautiful, she wasn't too short or too tall, she had flawless tanned skin, abs and well toned muscles from being a swimmer, thin and graceful. She didn't need to worry, Peridot did...

The blonde wanted to groan and bury her face in her hands, to whine and cry, or beg for her to not do this... But there was no way Peridot could see herself getting out of it.

After a few moments, she started to eat her breakfast... Along with barely half of the small piece of chocolate cake that the others had made last night. Feeling tired and full for the first time in ages, she got up from her spot and allowed Lapis to pick her up so she could be held in the taller girl's lap. She'd held her word, and had only taken a bite of the things Peridot herself had, for some reason the thought of how far Lapis would go for her made her smile.

"I love you Peri, I really do. The thought of makes me feel like I could fly, you take every bad thought away. It hurts me when you hurt yourself like you tried to yesterday, because you don't need to lose weight, I promise." Peridot heard her, but shook her head. "No Peri, no. You don't need to. I can feel your ribs Peridot... You carry on like this and you could... Y-you could..."

From her spot in the blue haired woman's lap, she could feel her trembling, and swore she could hear the faint makings of a sob in her throat. She let her actions speak for her when she hugged her as tightly as she could, nuzzling into her neck. The blonde blushed a little more than she probably should've when she felt the taller girl's abs pressing against her through the thin shirts they both wore. "I'll be okay... I'll start to e-eat more... I promise."

Her blush darkened when she felt a soft kiss on her forehead. "Thank you, my sweet little princess. You mean the whole world to me, I'll do anything for you."

She didn't need to tell Peridot that. The fact that she had restrained herself and only eaten barely half of her favourite food just because it was the same amount that Peridot had eaten had already proven it.

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

The two sat together on the Ferris-wheel, the last ride they'd go on before going home, she hated to have to end her sweetheart's fun early, but tonight was a special night. Every once a month the Mafia gt to drink to their hearts content. Due to the oncoming bad weather they'd be forced to stay home, even then they would normally go to a bar they all liked. They couldn't go to the bar they owned, they'd drink the place dry!

Peridot was leaning on her shoulder, a happy grin on her perfect face as she took another bite of her candy apple that had been dipped in white chocolate, in her other hand or rather, arm, was a large alien plushy with a bow-tie and top hat. The tiny blonde had tried to win the game for it, but those things were rigged. When Peridot had looked up at her with those wide, pleading eyes the blue haired girl immediately pulled a little blue teardrop shaped pin from her wallet and showed it to the man running the game. He had plucked the prize straight from its shelf and handed it to Peridot, who squealed and hugged Lapis tightly.

They had been on quite a few rides, Lapis had let her on them through scaring the parks staff to let the tiny girl ride them despite the height limit. Now Lapis wasn't stupid, she knew which rides Peridot really couldn't go on and which ones only really had an age limit. They had been on a few rides, but what had really caught the blonde's eye was the games and treats.

She had gotten the little blonde some ice cream and iced tea, and had shared fries with her, Peridot had played a few games. While she hadn't won at some of them Lapis was still given a very quick hug after each game. She kept trying to thank Lapis, but for the blue haired girl, seeing that precious smile, those sweet, innocent, leafy green eyes filled with childish joy, that was more than enough to thank her.

Now her beloved sat at her side, a sleepy grin as she snuggled into Lapis' shoulder. She carried the soft scent of cotton candy around her, and had been bouncy all day, she'd had quite a bit of sugar, but due to Lapis' deal with her, she seemed to be caring less and less. Of course, she still didn't enjoy being seen by the others, but she was making progress. Lapis felt her body grow warm as Peridot gazed up at her.

"Lapis?" She was nuzzling into the taller girl, her food gone completely. "Is this our last ride?" She asked before yawning softly. Lapis giggled and smiled at her, she wanted so badly to kiss the small girl, to hold her close and keep her safe from the rest of the world, to shower her with all the love she could give.

"Yes Peri-baby, we're going home after this. We'll be having drinks at home tonight, it's a special occasion."

"What's the occasion?" Peridot's eyes filled with curiosity. Lapis' grin only grew.

"We want to drink. But it'll be special for me, because I'll be with you." She spoke softly, delighting in watching the blonde's cheeks turn a dark shade of red. "Oh sweetheart, c'mon, the ride's over." She started to laugh softly to herself and scooped up the tiny woman to carry her out once the ride came to a stop.

Peridot clung to her like a koala and Lapis could feel her tiny smile as she pressed her face into her shoulder. "Thank you so much... What you've done for me is... Probably the nicest anyone has ever been to me, I..." She was about to speak again when the two of them felt drops of cold water hail down on them. Lapis hadn't realized how dark the sky was getting, and now rain had begun to pour down onto them, Peridot squealed and tightened her hold.

Lapis groaned and started to run towards Garnet's car as thunder softly rumbled in the distance, Peridot let out a whimper, holding her plushy tightly with one arm as the blue haired criminal held her close. The two practically jumped into the dark red car, Lapis slamming the door shut and trying to dry off the now panicking blonde. "Shh, baby it's okay, we're safe in here, we'll be home as soon as Garnet gets back from the dock." She tried to soothe Peridot, but to no avail.

The blonde had moved a little and allowed Lapis to wrap a towel, warmed from the car, around her tiny body. Her back, hair, face and one of her arms were the only places that were wet at all, Lapis had at least managed to keep her somewhat dry. Her plushy was completely dry too, Peridot held it close and nuzzled her face into it, Lapis was not about to admit jealousy towards an object.

Garnet calmly walked back over with a small black umbrella, almost as if she knew what would happen. The tall woman got into the car just as the first crack of lightning split the sky and garnered a small noise from Peridot the sounded almost like a sob. She knew the small woman feared thunderstorms, and held her gently but firmly enough to let her hide in her dark blue tank top.

The drive home was quick, Lapis lived rather close, her district was mainly youth and family-based entertainment. She watched as small families with their young children duck for shelter from the oncoming storm. Peridot shivered where she sat, Lapis wrapped another towel around her and shushed her frightened cries. "It's okay Peri-baby, you're safe with me, I've got you, nothing can hurt you when you're with me, I promise."

POV SHIFT- Sheena Cho

She carefully set the first tray of shots onto the maple-wood table and grinned at the others, Garnet sat with Jasper, the two laughing together at something on Jasper's phone. Amethyst was trying to catch Pearl's attention, the peach haired girl trying to read a bit of her book. Lapis was sitting with Peridot on the floor and playing with her hair, still slightly damp. The little blonde's eyes filled with wonder upon seeing the alcohol.

"Never had a drink before Tiny?" The tall woman asked, Peridot shook her head rapidly. "Well if you're gonna drink kiddo, I suggest you start off with the shots on the left, they're weaker than the stuff on the right. We don't want you burning your throat, okay?" She patted the young woman's shoulder and handed her the weakest shot they had.

Peridot started to sniff at her drink curiously. Sheena chuckled and sat with Pearl, taking her hand gently. Due to her Korean heritage Sheena was unable to drink without causing health problems for herself, she didn't mind it though, all it meant was that she would be taking everyone to bed after it was all over. She handed one of the stronger shots to Pearl and another to Amethyst. Garnet took a few of her own, Jasper and Lapis each taking two of the strongest.

She felt the weight of the couch shift when Amethyst hopped up next to her, "C'mon dude, you gotta tell us! What's the big news?" She asked, the others looking over now, drinks in hand. Pearl looked up at her and smiled with a small nod.

The pink haired woman reached into her pocket. "As you guys know, Pearl and I have been together for quite some time, we've saved each other and have stuck together through anything the world's thrown at us. About a month ago, three days before Lapis met Peridot, Pearl gave me the most precious gift I could ask for." She pulled out a silver ring, on it was a pink and green stone with a white stripe in its center. "We're getting married this spring."

The others began to cheer loudly, "Took you guys long enough!" Jasper shouted and drank her shots, the others doing the same. Even Peridot began to drink, she almost coughed it up the second it went down, but the blonde was stronger than she appeared and managed to smile afterwards before grabbing another. Lapis took a few between her fingers and placed them near the two. Rain was pouring down outside the cave, lightning ripped its glowing cracks in the dark sky, thunder rumbling making Peridot turn where she sat to scurry into the blue haired girl's arms.

Sheena watched them all drink, Amethyst had for some odd reason put tiny marshmallows into her drinks. Jasper started to laugh, "H-hey guys, I just had a fucking AMAZING idea!" She shouted, "Lets break into the pool near my place!"

Pearl nodded, her voice slurred and her eyes hazy, Sheena would have to carry her up the stairs soon. Garnet was laughing and was now sitting on the floor, her sunglasses resting on the table. "Y-yeah, sounds like a *hic* GREAT PLAN!" Sheena pulled her into her lap, the French woman leaned on her, Sheena gently pet her hair and shushed her.

"Guys, we can't go anywhere, it's storming out." She calmly said to them. Amethyst passed out, falling onto a few small pillows with her long hair in a mess. "See, Amethyst is already out, you should all get some sleep okay?"

There was a loud whine from across the table. Peridot was squirming and whining where she sat on the floor. "Pick me up!" The blonde shrieked, "I don't *hic* w-wanna go to sleep!" She screamed until Lapis scooped her back up. The blue haired woman had been almost completely asleep after her 8th shot of the strongest thing they had in the house. Peridot kicked as if she were a young child throwing a tantrum. "Lapis p-please don't make me go to bed, I don't want nightmares..."

Lapis smiled and hugged her, rubbing her back to get her to stop kicking. "Shh, sweetheart no one is gonna make you do anything, remember?"

In that instant the Greek girl smiled brightly and snuggled up to her. "Oh yeah... I get whatever I want!" She chirped and giggled as she tried to reach for her next shot, but Sheena took it from her. She'd had more than enough to drink. The blonde whimpered until Lapis offered her a small cookie, she took it and immediately quieted down.

"Sheena? I n-need to talk to Lapis for a few minutes, I'm drinking water and she's a good listener when she's drunk." Her fiance stood up, still somewhat graceful and tapped Lapis' shoulder. "I need to talk to you. It's about Peridot."

It looked like the tiny girl hadn't even noticed them talking, she was cuddling with a stuffed alien toy that Lapis had gotten her, she was reaching a tiny hand towards Sheena's foot. "How'd y-you get so tall?" She asked, Sheena picked her up and placed her beside her, wincing internally at the feeling of Peridot's ribs pressing into her hands. Sheena was one of the few people Lapis trusted to actually pick her up.

"Don't know, I got lucky I guess." She told her, she knew how to talk to drunk people after doing this for years. Peridot yawned and hiccupped, it seemed she had nothing left to say. Sheena just chuckled, ruffled her hair and decided to listen in to Pearl and Lapis' conversation.

"Now, I turned on the recorder in my phone, and will be sending this file to Rose. Rose gave me an order Lapis, and... And I don't like it very much."

"W-what's this have to do with My Peri?" Lapis sounded irritated and tired, Sheena thought she heard Pearl sigh.

"Lapis, she isn't yours. She's n-not some little bunny you could just pluck off the streets. She's becoming dependent on you for everything!" Ah yes, this had been Pearl's fear from the very start. The fear that Peridot would become Lapis' pet, nothing more than a pretty face for Lapis to smother all the emotions out of.

"Well... Well what's the harm in that?" Lapis was pouting now.

"Lapis that's not healthy for her. Just... Just for a week, I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"For just a single week, be strict with her. She needs to learn her place, and you're wasting a lot of money on her, you're spoiling her. I know you want her to be happy but none of us want to see her become a spoiled brat."

"It's not wasting money if it's for her!" Lapis' voice became almost a whine.

"Alright, whatever you say... But please Lapis, I don't want to have to try putting you on med-" The peach haired girl was cut off when Lapis roared.

"I don't need them! I'm fine!" Sheena felt the hair on the back of her neck rise when there was silence for a few seconds, but breathed a sigh of relief when Pearl spoke again.

"I know. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. But... If you don't do this, and can't go the entire week... Rose could take Peridot away, and have you stuck with Jasper again. She doesn't want either of you to be hurt. Please do this, it will only be for a week, just to see how she behaves if she's told no. This could even be good for her. After all Lapis... They say distance makes the heart grow fonder..."

There was a bit more silence, Peridot fell asleep on Sheena's arm, snoring softly. The others had fallen asleep too.

Lapis' voice was soft, Sheena had to strain to hear it at all. "Fine, I'll play your stupid game..."


	17. Reverse World Chapter 1

Crystal awoke with a start, her chest heaving as she looked desperately around the room. It was a bit dark, no windows, there were black leather couches around her, a coffee table too. Many gaming systems were scattered everywhere, despite how normal it looked, there was still a massive problem.

The chair she was tied to. No matter how much the waitress squirmed and struggled, she couldn't escape her binds. They weren't that tight, but she barely had any energy... All she remembered was Navy going out for pizza, a knock at the door, and the man who had attacked her. Crystal had tried to fight him, but had slipped and fell, he had quickly pinned her down... There was a sharp pain in her back, then nothing.

"H-hello?" She called out, though she was sure that whoever had brought her here would be anything but friendly.

There was light from a different part of the room, someone crept quietly down the staircase. Crystal tried desperately to turn to get a better view of who it was, but failed. However it made her aware of the necklace around her neck, the teardrop shaped blue stone, flecked with gold, sat just over her breasts.

The person who had come downstairs revealed them-self. Crystal felt her mouth go dry as she stared helplessly at the woman before her. Peridot, the anxious, and somewhat cute (not anymore though, that had gone out the window and was now replaced with creepy) little woman was watching her, her sea green eyes filled with concern and... Longing?

"Are the ropes hurting you, my pretty dove? Are you hungry?" She asked, stepping a bit closer, but not too close. "Are you okay?"

A storm of rage shot through Crystal like like a solar flare. "No, I'm not okay! Let me go!" She hissed, Peridot looked so guilty for a second Crystal stopped glaring at the short girl.

"Please, you have to understand, I need you so much Lapis, you're the only one who helps..." She pleaded a little, wringing her hands and shuffling her feet. Crystal growled at her.

"Who are you... And why did you call me Lapis?" The blue haired girl asked and struggled against her bonds once again. "What the hell's going on!?"

"Your last name is Lazuli, so Lapis is a perfect fit. That and you deserve a beautiful name, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, I really want to give you the best, that's why I'm doing things upstairs sweetheart, to show you that you're a goddess to me... I mean look, tanned skin, beautiful hair, and... Lapis, everything about you is so perfect to me."

The blue haired girl growled when she stepped closer, and to her surprise Peridot took a step back. "Boundary acknowledged, it's okay Lapis, I would never want to hurt you. You showed me back at the diner what love feels like. I just want you to feel the same... I love you Lapis."

The Latina tilted her head, never in so many years had anyone ever said they loved her. "W-what are you gonna do?" She asked, cursing mentally for stuttering.

Peridot put a hand on her chin, her other hand letting her fingers tap one of her wide hips that the waitress had once found alluring. "Well, I wanted to give you breakfast. And maybe something to keep yourself entertained for about 5 minutes while I make a phone call. I'll have people coming in to finish up with the things in your new room, I was doing it myself but... Well I can't leave my beautiful goddess all alone."

"Why are you doing this? Why me?"

"Because you're my everything, I'd do anything for you Lapis. I really do love you..." The blonde woman looked at her, and she saw in those sea green eyes the same look Peridot had given her back at the diner when she had gently whispered for the waitress to stay close, that she couldn't handle so many people around without someone to talk to. She remembered them talking for hours about anything they could think of... Not once did she think Peridot was a criminal...

The blue haired girl looked down, her life until this point had been a nightmare. The only girl in her family, her father hated her, along with her brothers and uncle. And they made sure she knew it. She had run away at 18 years old and run into Navy, someone who was looking for a roommate. She'd thought she would be getting some sort of blessing, just getting to be the short woman's roommate for free, but Navy drove her absolutely insane, as if she didn't have a care in the world what things still hurt the Latina to this day...

Like calling her name so loudly it made her flinch, because in her old home, hearing her own name never meant something good... The word Crystal was another reminder of how her family had tried to destroy her.

Lapis looked back up at Peridot and sighed softly as the blonde stared at the ropes binding her to the chair. Peridot's gaze moved up to look her in the eyes. "Lapis, I would never want to hurt you. I'll give you anything you want, and keep you safe. You helped me to know what love feels like, I promise nothing bad will happen to you. I'll treat you like a queen, I swear."

Her adrenaline was wearing off from her outburst before. Fear was setting in now, what did this girl want? Was she lying to Lapis just so she could get her to lower her guard? Why did she do this? What was with that man at the door...?

"P-peridot?" She asked, the blonde looked so afraid, Lapis wondered if she was scared to upset the blue haired woman. "Who was the man that came into my apartment?"

Now the small criminal growled, and Lapis regretted asking that. "I wanted him to bring you safely to me, to not hurt you, but he did... And I'm so sorry Lapis. I ended him, he'll never hurt you again. Like I said my sweet angel, I'd do anything for you." Her glare had turned into a loving gaze, her voice was getting sickly sweet and she had the creepiest smile Lapis had ever seen.

"Welcome to your new home."


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: Warning for blood, along with Peri's self hatred and eating disorder. I'm sorry for how short this chapter is but it's kind of a part one of an arc.**_

Peridot awoke curled up in her bed, she hadn't even been awake for more then a few seconds before running into the bathroom and emptying her upset stomach in the darkness. Guess she really was lucky that the bathroom was across from her room as Lapis had said.

She was thankful for the cold tile of the bathroom floor to cool down her feverishly hot skin, and that the house was quiet almost pitch black where she was. Opening her eyes hurt, her stomach felt like it was twisting up in knots, and her head was pounding.

Every little sound, like her own heartbeat, rung in her ears and made her want to scream. She could barely remember what had happened last night, she knew she had drank way too much, she definitely remembered her brain screaming at her to eat or at least chew something, which had made her throw a hissy fit when Sheena had taken her plastic shot glass away. The last thing she could bring to mind was Lapis giving her a small cookie to nibble on.

Oh god she'd been such a child, embarrassment flooded through her, along with a new wave of pain and dizziness despite not having moved at all. The floor felt like it was slipping from under her, Peridot crawled back to her old spot in the corner of the room, and tried not to throw up again. The young blonde was infinitely thankful that the bathroom mirror was always oddly covered up by a navy blue velvet curtain.

She whimpered when someone stepped into the bathroom, and whined at the sound of something being put on the floor.

She turned her head, pushing down the wave of pain, and saw Garnet kneeling down, she'd just put a cup on the floor. "Sheena bought them, they help with hangovers. It's banana, try it." She spoke so softly, and very sweetly to the young blonde.

Peridot grabbed it and began to drink immediately. Last night had been the first time she'd ever gotten drunk, this was her first ever hangover. She knew from watching her older brother Liam after a New Year's party that they could be bad, but she never thought it could feel like this. After drinking about half of the smoothie she looked up at Garnet. "How are you not... Sick?" She asked, internally cringing at the sound of her hoarse voice.

"I'm used to it. I feel a bit sick, and my head does hurt, but I also didn't have all that much." She explained and patted the Greek woman's shoulder. "You'll be okay Peridot, I promise. We're all having breakfast downstairs... Please join us?" She had a hopeful look in her differently coloured eyes, and Peridot nodded. The British woman walked down the hall and down the stairs, the blonde was starting to feel a little better, and whispered her thanks to the tall girl.

A door at the end of the hall opened, Lapis' door. Peridot still had no clue what her room looked like. It was always too dark to see, and Lapis never fully opened the door, only just enough to let the tanned girl out. Peridot wouldn't dare sneak into the blue haired girl's room, but it seemed to be her poisoned golden apple, begging her to come closer, to see what was hiding.

What was Lapis hiding?

The pale girl looked up again, and her face flushed red. Lapis was standing there just barely out of the doorway, not even fully out, but shirtless. She may have worn a bra, but Peridot could still see the blue haired woman's toned abs and it's not like anything was being left to the imagination, Peridot buried her cherry red face into her hands to hide her face. Lapis' breath hitched and Peridot heard her slam the door along with her footsteps, the blonde quickly went down the stairs.

Pearl waved to her when she entered the kitchen. "Hello Peridot, how are you feeling?" She had dark circles under her eyes and was leaning heavily on the counter.

"Better, a bit. Can I have some water please?" She asked, Pearl gave a sympathetic smile and handed her a water bottle. The tiny blonde thanked her and sat at the table waiting. Amethyst and Jasper looked at her and started to snicker. "What?"

"We've never had a biter before." Said Jasper, "You chewed on every plastic shot glass you had, don't know if you remembered that. Don't feel bad kid, we've got worse."

The blonde nodded and drank her water. She sat between Amethyst and Garnet, the purple haired girl was texting Carnelian, something about... A boat? With a shipment of supplies coming in today. Oh, so they had business going on right now. Garnet was cleaning her sunglasses, apparently she had them because her eyes were particularly sensitive.

"Um, Garnet?"

The black haired woman turned to looked at her, Peridot's glasses were filthy, she held them up without a word and Garnet took them with a soft smile. "So I'm curious, are you nearsighted or farsighted?" She asked.

Peridot chuckled, and after another sip of water (Why was she so thirsty? Was it the hangover? Why did she think drinking that much was a good idea?) gave her friend an answer. "Kinda nearsighted, they're mostly just for reading, or seeing in the dark. If I don't wear them for more than 6 hours I get headaches though." She explained, and Garnet handed them back.

"They look nice." She said pleasantly and put her sunglasses back on. Peridot was starting to think she liked to hide behind them. The sound of footsteps made the blonde turn around, Lapis sat at the table, avoiding her eyes, she was sitting oddly far from Peridot. She hopped out of her chair and walked over to the Hawaiian woman, who sat next to Jasper, there was an empty seat next to her.

"Good morning." She chirped, and pointed to the empty chair. "Can I sit with you?" She asked her friend, Lapis closed her eyes tightly, as if she were in pain, and took a deep shuddering breath.

"No."

Peridot took a step back. No? Lapis had never told her no before. Even the others were surprised, Amethyst's eyes widened and Jasper almost dropped her sandwich. The two were going on a mission today, at the border between Lapis and Amethyst's districts there was an old, rundown trailer park. Lapis had a customer there who owed her... Quite a bit of money.

"Oh, okay." She tried to just ignore the odd feeling she had, and sat back at her spot. A small plate with two pieces of toast and a single egg was placed in front of her by Sheena, who gave her a little pat on the head. She looked across the table at the beautiful criminal. Bacon, two eggs, and half of an orange, which the blue haired woman started eating quickly.

Peridot's stomach twisted with disgust for herself as flashbacks from yesterday hit her full force. Of course Lapis no longer wanted to eat what she wanted, it was way too much. She'd eaten a lot at breakfast, and had eaten all those sweets while they were out. She hoped she hadn't grossed the blue haired woman out, eating like that. No wonder the blonde was chubby, she loved treats.

She looked at her plate, her stomach growling painfully as she gazed down at her egg. Peridot really wanted it but... She didn't really need it. She'd settle for her toast and force herself to eat a bit from the plate of veggies that had been laid out for them all. She hated vegetables...

Lapis hadn't even looked at her once, just sat silently with an empty chair beside her.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She had gotten dressed in her long sleeved blue flannel and jeans, and was waiting for Peridot to finished getting dressed too. The blue haired girl stared at her tiny reflection in her polished pistol, and wanted to smirk. If her reflection was small it had no power, no real eyes to taunt her about her past. She growled though when Pearl came up to her. "I hate you."

The peach haired woman glared at her. "I don't make the rules. I can't get a hold of Rose either, so hush." She sighed and sat on the arm of a recliner chair. Guess she was having one of those days, where she couldn't sit in properly in a chair, the Diamonds had tried to train it out of her to do anything like a human being. She would either sit on the floor or the arms of couches... But Pearl was getting better, they all were.

Except her.

"Peridot let's go!" She called up as she stood, tucking her gun into its place on her belt. The tiny woman rushed down the stairs, Lapis looked away and prayed she wouldn't slip or fall. She didn't, and quickly got her shoes on without a word. She was wearing a dark green t-shirt, and a long black skirt. It was a little bit warm out, so at least she wouldn't be too cold... Lapis sighed and hoped she wouldn't ask for her to turn on the heater in her car.

Lapis herself had a dark blue long sleeved shirt and faded jeans, a Mafia gala couldn't come fast enough, when she'd get to wear the things she had bought just for her Peri to see, to make her look better, she'd get to wear all sorts of fancy things that used to mean less than nothing to her just for the chance to see the love of her life blush... Though Lapis got the sick feeling in her stomach that Peridot wouldn't be doing any blushing or smiling for a while.

The Hawaiian woman walked through the cavern she called home, feeling wind that promised to be bitter brush her cheeks and ruffle her hair. Winter was coming quickly, in just a few days it would be Thanksgiving over at Pearl's house. Lapis felt a tiny smile creep up when she thought of getting to be around Steven, she absolutely adored him, all of them did.

She walked up the cliff, Peridot a little bit behind her and completely silent. Something was so wrong about the younger girl being silent, she was always so chatty and bubbly... She wasn't really dependent on Lapis... Was she?

The blue haired girl shook her head to clear her thoughts and got into her car, placing her gun in a small compartment under her seat that Rose had made just for her. She couldn't bare to watch Peridot, the last glimpse she had of her was the underweight girl leaning back in her seat and starting to fidget with her tiny hands, the blonde always had a hard time with sitting still.

She was already hating this, she wanted to spoil Peridot, lavish her with attention and praise... But Rose would take her away as if Lapis were a child not giving up a favourite toy. "Lapis?" Oh god no. "Are you okay?"

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened up and without giving the beautiful girl a glance she responded, "Nothing you need to worry about. Still hungover a little." A little half lie, her stomach was still upset, but maybe that was from having to talk to her princess this way.

"Oh, o-okay." Her voice was quiet, discouraged. A small spark of pain shot through Lapis' chest as she pulled up to the border. Long grass covered the area, and faint, static-filled music from an old radio played. Puddles were everywhere, everything was dripping, cracked, stained, had cobwebs, and reeked of cigarettes. Ashes slowly blew across the filthy, soda-cans and styrofoam containers littered ground near the quiet trailers. Peridot huddled close to her, Lapis could hear her quickening breath.

"L-lapis? C-can I go back in the car, p-please?" She whimpered, and Lapis wanted so badly to hold her close rub her back and whisper _'yes sweetie, go back to the car, it'll be okay I promise'_ but instead she kept walking, and shook her head.

"No."

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Was Lapis mad at her? Why was she acting like this? Had Peridot upset her last night while drunk? Why was she saying no all of a sudden...?

The blonde shivered as the wind bit her, she was always so cold now, she wanted to wear her skirt but now she regretted it. She rubbed her thinning sides, only somewhat aware of the fact that her shirt was being blown a bit by wind too, it clung to her tiny frame desperately as she walked beside Lapis.

The blue haired girl didn't seem to want to talk with her... Peridot didn't bother trying to hold her hand, especially since the other one had a gun in it.

Fear crept through her body, a nasty voice in her head spoke in a soft, mocking whisper. _'You made her upset... She's annoyed with you... This is all your fault... Maybe if you hadn't eaten like a pig in front of her she'd still be happy with you... You're losing your novelty... She doesn't want you anymore, and why would she? You're not cute or pretty, you never were. She lied to you... She never loved you...'_

It went on repeat until she almost smacked into the taller girl, who stood rigidly in front of a trailer. Peridot stayed behind her and pushed all her thoughts away best she could. A gross looking man stepped out, stained clothes, reeking of alcohol and tobacco, messy hair and dark eyes. "Lazuli! What a surprise." He seemed to be trying to play friendly to Lapis, whose voice had no warmth.

"You're late. Where's my money?" Lapis hissed, and Peridot felt chills down her spine as she peeked out a little more from behind the taller girl. "I'm done giving you a second chance Richard. Your time is up, now pay up."

"It's coming I promise just gimme one week I..." He trailed off when he locked eyes with Peridot, clean clothes, neat (-ish) hair, soft looking and delicate with innocent emerald coloured eyes. "Whoa... How the fuck did you get one to stay during the daytime?" Richard asked, bewildered.

Confusion and a hint of rough anger seeped into the blue haired criminal's voice. "Excuse me? What do you mean... 'One'?" She asked, her tone making it obvious that this man had better choose his next words VERY carefully.

He didn't. "C'mon Laz, you have to tell me how much she costs!" He pleaded with her, and Peridot let out an offended squawk.

"Hey!" She huffed, "I'm not a pros..." She let her voice trail off, her blood running cold seeing Lapis put her finger on the trigger of her pistol.

Richard slapped a hand to his forehead, as if he now understood what was going on. "Oh! I get it now... Why didn't you say so? Yeah I totally get it now, she's your sugar b-"

Bang!

Peridot barely had time to duck behind Lapis before a shot was fired into the man's jugular. Blood splattered onto the wall and turned the puddle near him a dark red. Lapis took a deep shuddering breath, she was shaking, but Peridot knew it wasn't from fear. Her teeth were bared in a snarl and her other hand was a tight fist. "Bastard."

She took a few steps over to the still warm body and started to search his pockets. Peridot wanted to puke watching this. Lapis had put her gun back onto its spot on her hip, and she slid long gloves on over her sleeves to make sure she wouldn't get blood on her. The blonde was shivering in her place, still staring at the red splatter on the trailer where a human being once stood, living, breathing, did he have friends? Or family? Did people love him? Would anyone care that he was gone?

 _'No one seems to care that you're gone.'_

Lapis turned to her. "What?"

The blonde stared at her now, how was this okay to her? "You... You murdered him..."

"And?" She pulled a few bills out of his pocket and put them into her wallet.

Green eyes widened in horror at the lack of empathy. "Lapis... He had a life!"

"Not anymore."

She backed away a few steps, Lapis stared at her, intense blue eyes burning into her the same way the monsters in her nightmares would before ripping her to shreds.

"W-we can search t-the trailer for money... I-I can pick locks." She murmured, Lapis tilted her head, intrigued. "I've locked myself out of my apartment before." The pretty psycho would have normally laughed a little at that, but instead she looked down a bit, handed Peridot a bobby pin, and pointed at the door.

"Then do it."

Peridot nodded fearfully and did as she was told. The door creaked open and Lapis stepped in, leaving the body behind as if it were nothing more than a dead rat for someone else to clean up. The blonde walked around slowly in the dark, taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, as the light wouldn't turn on. Lapis handed her a flashlight and walked in the other direction. "Just look for some money." Lapis told her, and while Peridot nodded...

She didn't follow her.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She watched through the darkness as Peridot walked to a different part of the trailer, her heart aching for the tiny blonde and screaming to pull Peridot into her arms and hold her tightly. Lapis shoved that part of her aside best she could, and searched through a few drawers. Upon only finding a little bit of money, she pulled out her phone to check the time, but the phone buzzed. Before answering she changed Pearl's name in her phone.

Proof they hate me: How is everything?

Lapis: I hate you. You're an asshole.

Proof they hate me: If she's acting up it's because she's too used to having her way.

Lapis: She's not acting up. It's just hard to say no to her.

Proof they hate me: Do you know who says that? Parents with spoiled, bratty children. Is that how you want Peridot?

The blue haired woman growled, of course she didn't want the young blonde to become bratty... But saying no like this hurt... She'd try to get out of this, try for some leverage to make Pearl call it off and keep trying to explain to Rose that this wasn't the answer.

Lapis: Call this shit off or I'll tell Rose about your diary with your stupid crush on her.

Proof they hate me: Lapis. I am engaged and I've been over her since I met Sheena. Sheena saw the book before and laughed, she doesn't care.

Her eyes widened, she was running out of options. If she couldn't get leverage on Pearl she'd be locked into this for 6 more days.

Proof They All Hate Me: Goodbye Lapis, I'm not arguing with you over this. I'm sorry.

Peridot walked back out as Lapis shoved her phone back into her pocket, her heart filled with a heavy despair. "Lapis? I-I found some money." She handed the blue haired woman 30 dollars. Peridot curled her arms over her abdomen and looked down as her stomach growled, they had taken a while, it was around 11:30, Peridot needed lunch. "Can we go out to eat instead of home?" She asked, as the two had passed a few small diners on the way here.

For every single time Lapis felt like a monster, this week was going to top them all by far. "No."


	19. Chapter 19

_**AN: Please remember to comment/review if you liked it! Warning for... Well you all know how Peridot feels about food..**_

The sky was dark as Lapis made her way down the dock, bitter wind rushing past her as she watched the rough waters. "Any time now." She muttered, closing her eyes and searching for the noise of a certain boats engine. Her eyes snapped open upon hearing it in the distance. A boat to take her to one of the small hidden buildings she owned. The two men behind her carrying a large bag were thankfully silent, she wouldn't stand for them complaining that they were tired. 2:45 in the morning was nothing.

"Load it on." She instructed once the boat slowed to a stop near the dock. The blue haired girl pulled her hood on, call Lapis a dramatic but she'd be damned if a hooded cloak didn't look good on her. It was black and went down to her knees, fluttering in the wind until she wrapped it around herself.

Peridot had eaten most of her food at dinner, she was so proud of her. She had sat beside Lapis without asking, she hadn't said anything but the blue haired woman was at least happier to have her close. However... Lapis never got to give the blonde a tiny forehead kiss to say goodnight. She hated this, Peridot didn't deserve this.

The boat shook ever so slightly as they got to the shore, Lapis growled as she looked at the bag her men carried. "He got what he deserved." She hissed as they stepped onto the land, the full moon was shining brightly down onto them as they walked up to the building. A base for Lapis and the others.

It didn't take long for them to get to the base, hidden deep within the pines to keep away from prying eyes. The base didn't hold very much, it was mostly a home away from home where the Mafia members would stay if some of them got too stressed.

Amethyst had been sent there with a baseball bat a few months ago to take out her stress on a few innocent traffic cones. Lapis gave a dry laugh, the others could be stressed and they would be sent here to deal with it, but her?

She would be locked in the room they had made into Peridot's room. The blue haired girl remembered the first time they had been forced to do it, but she was snapped out of her thoughts by a distant bark. Lapis grinned wildly as she ran into the building and down a long corridor. There, in an empty looking room, chilling laughter echoed from a cage.

Lapis knelt down, still smiling as she watched. "I know, you all know what's coming don't you?" She asked as the laughter continued.

But not from any human. Four young hyenas stood before the blue haired girl, panting from having played around for hours. Fang, Scourge, Bone, and Fluffy. The tan skinned girl had taken them in was raising them, they were going to be trained to do many things, but right now Lapis was just bonding them to her, so they would listen to her commands. They already had a tendency to sit down when she entered the room.

"Good boys." Lapis smiled and scratched behind their ears. Bone licked her hand and Fluffy nuzzled against her wrist, making the mobster smile. "You all have a very special meal tonight." She told them, drumming her fingernails on the bars of the cage so one of her men could get the bag into the cage without the animals caring. As far as they were concerned Lapis was their mother, they listened to her and her alone.

She stood up, and pointed to the corner of the cage. The hyenas sniffed at the air before running over to the bag and tearing into it, laughing and beginning to eat, even Lapis herself giggled.

"Goodbye Richard."

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Peridot awoke with a jolt, breathing hard and whimpering as her heart raced. A bad dream, again, of course... It wasn't too bad, but she was still frightened, she could still see haunting yellow eyes staring her down, and she could definitely still remember the feeling of being completely unable to move, unable to run and hide.

"L-Lapis?" She whimpered, shaking as her tiny hands pulled her alien plushy to her body to hug tightly. It was almost as big as her and still smelled faintly Lapis' perfume from when she had held the Greek girl close for hours during the storm. The blonde felt hot tears slip down her cheeks as she laid there in the dark. Just days ago Lapis had been so kind and loving, holding her and covering her ears when thunder would crash, whispering soothing words to her.

Peridot sniffled, Lapis wasn't coming. She tried not to sob as she held her plushy tightly and shivered, cold and frightened. The blonde didn't want to make much sound, she didn't to wake anyone up or upset them. She was already trying to make Lapis happy, she'd try to get her something...

 _'Ha, you idiot. If she doesn't want to be around you why would she want something from you? Honestly, why would she want you at all? She's beautiful, and what are YOU? Worthless, unwanted, hideous... She'll HATE you if you don't be what she wants.'_ Her awful mind taunted her, making the tired blonde start to cry all over again.

Not a minute later, there was a knock at her door. "Can I come in?" Jasper was whispering to her outside her room. Lapis had been okay with Sheena and Garnet comforting her, but Peridot didn't know that Jasper would do it too.

"Y-yes." She mumbled. The white haired criminal stepped in, and slowly walked over to her before sitting on the end of her bed suddenly, making the tiny girl bounce.

Peridot stared at the buff woman and timidly crawled up to her after a few moments of trying to decide whether or not to let go of the large plushy in her arms. She decided to just hold it in one arm and to hug Jasper's side with the other. The Mexican girl patted her back and shoulder, "Easy kiddo." She muttered. "Just relax okay? You're safe. Just a nightmare..." She sounded a bit upset. Was something bothering her?

Peridot sat on her knees and looked up at her, slightly squished between Jasper's arm and side. "Are you okay?" She asked, innocent green eyes round and still misty.

The large girl nodded. "Just... Dreamt about someone..." She sighed.

Peridot could sense that she was upset. "Who?" She asked, and at once she expected Jasper to snap at her, to call her a brat or just leave her to her own hateful thoughts.

"Bismuth." Jasper instantly smiled upon saying the name. "My girlfriend, she's... Amazing, and beautiful, and I miss her so much..." She explained. "Buff like me, with really dark skin, and dreadlocks that she dyed all sorts of colours. She lives in Homeworld, she can't leave though, because the Diamond Authority has people watching the city borders. If she leaves without a way to hide... They'll kill her." She sighed and looked down at Peridot.

The younger woman frowned. "Well, you're going to rescue her, aren't you? It sounds like you really love her, and... If you do, then you have to fight for her."

Jasper nodded and stood up, "That's what I'm doing, that's what we're all doing. Fighting to free others. But that takes money and resources, we've got good money but our resources just hit a slight low. That always happens in the cold months though. We could try something in early spring." She told her, and gave a tired smile. "Why don't you get back to bed? We're gonna have quite the day tomorrow, and we could use your help packing. We're going to Pearl and Sheena's place for Thanksgiving, and spending the night there."

And with that, Jasper walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her. Peridot curled up under her blanket, though it had been somewhat nice to have Jasper there to talk to her, nothing could compare to the way Lapis could comfort her.

For the rest of the night, the blonde didn't get a wink of sleep.

Her morning was equally unpleasant, no Lapis in the morning with breakfast. The blonde just sat in bed for a while, waiting for the blue haired criminal to enter, but no one came. Peridot left her room quickly and went downstairs to see what the others were up to.

She remembered one time this had happened, the day she had gone to the Slums. Lapis hadn't come into her room to give her breakfast that day, so the blonde, curious as a kitten, had crept down the stairs.

Lapis was standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter with a bowl of cereal in front of her. "Can't believe I woke up late..." The blue haired had muttered to herself. Peridot watched with shock as she grabbed a small butter knife from the drawer and used it to start eating. What had she been thinking?!

When it was a bit away from her mouth Peridot had came out from her place behind the wall where she'd been hiding. "Lapis what are you doing?!" She had asked, and the taller woman smiled at her as if nothing was wrong.

"Hi sweetie, I'm so sorry I was running late, I had such a sweet dream about you I must have slept later than usual. Your breakfast is almost ready though Peri-baby, I promise." Her smile had held until she had seen the concern in the Greek nerd's eyes. "What's wrong baby?" She asked in that sugary tone that made Peridot feel ever so slightly warm inside.

"You're eating with a knife." Peridot pointed out, Lapis glanced at it, then pointed it towards the full sink.

"Well it's not a sharp one, and I really hate doing dishes." The blue haired girl told her before her face lit up, her deep blue eyes filled with joy. "Oh my love were you worried about me?" Her tan cheeks were pink as she put her knife down and had hugged Peridot tightly. "I'm okay princess, I'm careful. It was so sweet of you to be concerned over me though... I love you Peri."

But now... There was no one in the kitchen. Pearl was at the dining room table trying to fit a few things into a bag, "Good morning Peridot." She said before groaning and taking a bunch of containers out. "We have some fresh bread on the counter if you want some, Nutella is on the bottom shelf but if you need help with high up things just tell me." She explained and tried desperately to zip up the bag.

"Thanks." Peridot said quietly, and looked around. She gazed at the bread, its warm scent making her mouth water, but she shook her head. After a small yawn she decided to just grab a few small strawberries.

"Oh, I see you found the strawberries, Garnet likes to grow fruit, those are from her house. Try them, they're amazing!" Pearl said cheerfully, and Peridot had to hold back a snicker seeing that her bag was now covered in duct-tape.

The little red berries were sweet, nothing like the huge but flavourless ones she used to buy at grocery stores. She frowned a little seeing the some of the red juice had spilt onto her pale green pajama shirt, she knew this fabric had to be expensive, as she had NEVER seen or felt it before. It was something Lapis had bought for her (very creepy that she knew the girl's clothing size without asking) and Peridot was thankful for it. Soft and warm and just for her.

She couldn't remember the name Lapis had called it though. Peridot called it ' soft rich people stuff'.

After she was finished eating, Sheena came in from outside and told her to get dressed and start putting her things on her bed that she would take with her. When she went upstairs Amethyst had raced down the steps, "Jasper wait up! Don't start without me!" She was wearing a dark purple knee length dress. So this was a formal occasion, made sense.

She had noticed the rather fancy looking blouse and pants on Pearl earlier but had just thought the peach haired girl just wanted to look nice. Peridot put her glasses on, along with her necklace, and looked through her large closet.

The blonde grinned a little seeing the something she liked. A lime green dress that went down to her knees, simple sure but she liked it. It didn't hug her waist or hips, if it had she wouldn't want it. She didn't want any attention to those areas. Another good factor for the dress? It had pockets! With a little 'nyeheheh' the blonde shoved her DS into her pocket.

She ran out of her room upon hearing a loud noise, had something happened downstairs?

"Lapis stop being so stubborn!" Sheena had the blue haired girl, who looked absolutely miserable and exhausted, sitting on the arm of a couch while she did her hair, spraying it with water and trying to brush out the tangled mess. "You wouldn't be sitting still like this if you could do this yourself." The Korean woman huffed and grabbed a curling iron from the table. "Now hold still."

Lapis growled. "I hate this." Her hair was in its fluffy state, so she had just woken up not long ago. Peridot watched as Sheena got Lapis' bangs to curl the way they always did. The Hawaiian woman's bangs were often curled and neat if she just brushed her hair, but for some odd reason it looked almost... Windblown? What was she doing last night? Her hair could be messy just waking up but it was never this bad.

"There, all done. You're free." Said Sheena, and Lapis hopped from her place on the couch. She froze seeing Peridot, her cheeks turning red immediately.

Peridot looked up at her, the woman she was so desperate for some attention from. "Good morning Peridot... You... You look really nice." She said, her voice not sugary, but clipped and strained.

Peridot's heart started its descent, already feeling heavy and unwanted, she just nodded and slipped her shoes on before going outside. She didn't even bother trying to hug the blue haired girl, she knew when someone didn't want her.

 _'Of course she doesn't want me, that's why she didn't show up last night, she didn't want to have to comfort a clingy brat like me... She was up late last night, probably looking for a better girl, prettier and skinnier than me...'_

Her mind was cruel, the thoughts kept coming whether she wanted to think like that or not. She could feel her bottom lip quiver, her eyes stinging and her chest starting to feel tight, Peridot took a deep breath and sat down at the edge of the cave, watching the grey clouds and the choppy water rolling up to the shore. The tiny woman was on her knees, hugging herself tightly and willing herself not to cry.

It was going to snow soon, at least it might look pretty on the beach. Speaking of the beach, there was loud shouting coming from somewhat far away. Jasper and Amethyst.

Peridot poked her head out of the cave, rubbing her eyes and making sure no one would be able to tell how upset she had been. The sisters were standing over a small fire, holding metal poles and sticking marshmallows onto them.

The blonde walked over, they still hadn't noticed her yet. Amethyst had gotten 5 of the puffy treats onto her stick and was practically dancing on the spot as she roasted them, she looked up at her big sister and cheered while pumping her fist into the air. "Man make fire!" The purple haired woman screeched.

"God damn right we did!" Jasper shouted back before noticing Peridot. "What, you need something?"

Peridot lifted an eyebrow. "Um, what are you two-"

Amethyst cut her off and pointed to the bag of marshmallows sitting on a tiny chair. "Uh, duh! What's it look like? She clearly wants somethin' to eat you dingus!" The short (though taller than Peridot, to the blonde's dismay, why was everyone taller than her?) woman said to her older sister, who rolled her eyes.

The Greek girl raised her hand, "Uh, I-" Before she could finish her sentence a bag of huge marshmallows was tossed into her arms, with the treats being about as big as her hand. The sweet scent made a shiver run down her spine, she had such an awful sweet tooth, but she gave the bag back to Amethyst.

"You don't want any?" She looked so confused, Peridot had eaten sweets in front of them before, and loved them. "You feelin' okay P-Dot? You look kinda sick."

The blonde shook her head. "No I... It's probably just the light, I'm feeling fine. Just um, had a lot to eat for breakfast, that's all." She lied, and they believed it fully, nodding and going back to joking around.

4 small strawberries, that had been the young girl's breakfast.

She helped them pack up things, and watched as Sheena drove off with the bags Pearl had packed, not being able to muster up a smile this time seeing them all covered in duct-tape. Peridot felt like she wasn't going to smile again for a long time.

Now she sat in the basement of the house, waiting for them to go. Apparently Sheena wanted to do something special, taking their bags with her to possibly set up some guest rooms. The blonde had been playing games on the DS Lapis had bought her, when Garnet had walked down the stairs. "Peridot?" She asked and flicked the light on, causing the small woman to groan and borderline hiss from the sudden light. "Oh, there you are! We're leaving now, so you have to go put your shoes on. All your things were set up by Sheena."

Peridot looked over at her as she shoved her DS back into her pocket. "What time is it?" She asked, she hadn't checked in so long.

"Almost 6." The tall woman told her, Peridot's eyes widened. 6?! She had basically skipped lunch, two granola bars didn't count according to the others. "Dinner is going to be ready soon, in fact we're the only ones still here. Everyone is ready, and we all need to 'be on our best behaviour'." She said with an odd smile.

Peridot tilted her head, "Does that mean something special?" She asked.

"It means Connie's parents are coming. They have no clue we're criminals."

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She waited in the front hall, Garnet had gone downstairs to get her beloved Peridot to come with them. Lapis hated having to watch her poor sweetheart so upset, she wanted to rush to her and hold her tightly, kiss her forehead and tell her that she was so sorry, she didn't want to have to do this, that she loved Peridot more than anything in the world, and that Peridot was her sweet little princess.

She had almost frozen up upon seeing the blonde in that dress, she looked so soft, bordering on angelic. Sheena had done something with a few of the members' hair, putting curls in Amethyst's mane, fixing Lapis' bangs and curling the bit of hair that hung down at the sides of her face.

And Peridot? While her hair was hard to work with Sheena had managed to do something. Her bangs had been straightened, and her hair had been gently brushed. It was still fluffy as always, but without any of the knots in the back that would hurt her tiny fingers if she ran them through her hair. Not to mention the stuff Sheena had sprayed into it a little while ago just before leaving, thanks to her Peridot now smelled like vanilla.

Lapis swore the girl was just plain intoxicating, she had the blue haired woman under her spell, wrapped around her little fingers.

 _'My Peri, how are you so perfect? I love you so much...'_ She thought to herself as the beautiful blonde came up the stairs, quickly followed by Garnet, who was wearing quite the fancy blouse and jacket.

They got into Garnet's car, Lapis in the front, with the black haired woman driving, Peridot in the back seat playing on her DS in silence. Dark blue eyes widened as the car drove through the town.

Little white flakes were whizzing by them, the first snow of the year. Peridot gave an excited little gasp from the back seat, and made an endearing sound as she watched. "I love snow so much!" She chirped, and Lapis knew that this was probably the first time in a long time that her angel could say this. She knew Peridot had lived on the streets, that only made the blue haired criminal want to spoil her even more.

Soon they had entered the wealthy district, Pearl and Sheena's territory. Everyone now had to listen to those two, as they had listened to Lapis. The order to say no to Peridot however had come from Rose, and the blue haired girl had no choice but to listen to her.

They pulled up to a large mansion, hidden away by a large hill. A creek ran near the house, along it were tall willow trees swaying gently in the wind. A large cherry tree stood in front of the house, bare now, but definitely going to give them some rather nice cherries come spring.

Garnet pulled up beside Jasper's truck and had been about to hop out when her phone went off. Lapis was feeling a little curious, and so decided to look over.

Sweet cheesy 'we love you so much' messages from Ruby and Sapphire, making the normally stoic woman smile as bright as a Christmas tree. It was so sweet to see that everyone in the mafia had family or at least someone they dearly loved, and were able to see that loved returned.

Rose had her husband and her wonderful son Steven.

Garnet had her mothers, Ruby and Sapphire had Garnet and each other.

Pearl had her sister, Azul, along with her fiance Sheena.

Sheena didn't have family necessarily, but she had Pearl, her fiance.

Jasper and Amethyst had each other, even in childhood.

Lapis had...

Oh...

She could feel her smile fade away, the world darkening to her just a little. Lapis watched as Peridot slowly walked up to the large house, the orange glow from the windows making her into a precious little silhouette, gently drifting along the path and reaching out to catch snowflakes.

The blue haired woman prayed that one day, Peridot, her goddess, would one day love her. But then again, Peridot was a smart girl, she knew better than to fall in love with a monster like her.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She stepped inside and took a deep breath, smelling all the foods that had been made. Amethyst was running around, chasing after Steven and Connie, who were laughing wildly. "I'm not short you guys just grew!" Amethyst shouted at them, a sly grin on her face.

On the couch was Jasper, talking to a man and woman Peridot had never seen before. They looked so much like Connie, they must have been the sweet girl's parents, blissfully unaware that they were currently in a Mafia house. Though Peridot had grown used to it.

She felt something nudge her ankle. The Greek woman looked down to see a huge pinkish-ginger cat rubbing up against her and purring loudly. Steven smiled when he came up to her. "Hey there Miss Peridot, looks like Lion really likes you!" He exclaimed cheerfully and scooped up the fluffy creature.

Peridot raised an eyebrow, fully amused now. "Why is it pinkish?" She asked, rubbing Lion's belly, he purred and stretched best he could in Steven's arms.

"Mom said it had something to do with his genetics, she found him as a kitten in a dumpster, he almost died, but she saved him!" The teenager explained to her. "I'm the only one he wants to carry him though, he doesn't like being picked up by anyone else. We always give him bits of turkey on Thanksgiving so I think he's really happy."

She watched as Steven sat down near a large piano, Connie soon joining him and the two of them cuddling together with the purring cat laying across both of them.

Peridot remembered her old cat that she had when she was younger, Pierre. Fat, lazy and often grumpy, he was her best friend, she remembered all the afternoons she spent with him curled up on her back as she drew, the nights she spent crying from thunder with him cuddled up to her. She had been the only one he would allow to pick him up.

She loved cats, always had since she was little, along with cars. In fact... Her love for those two things had most likely influenced not only her choice of job (as Yellow had offered her a list with a few to pick from) but also the fact that many saw her as very cat-like, Limone sometimes teasing her by saying "Here kitty, kitty!"

Dinner was soon served, Peridot quickly seating herself between Sheena and Amethyst. They wouldn't be paying attention to her. Lapis sat across from her, chatting happily with Steven. She was rather impressed, sure these people were criminals, but they always looked just like a family at dinner.

Peridot looked down at her plate. Mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, and cheesy dinner rolls. Her stomach growled loudly, protesting the tiny bites she took. The food was honestly amazing, even the salad looked somewhat appetizing.

She'd eaten one and a half of her dinner rolls, a fair amount of potato and about two bites of turkey. The Greek girl wanted more of her food so badly but... That thought from earlier came back.

Prettier and skinnier... Was that what Lapis wanted? She could try and do that. She hoped Lion wouldn't mind the extra turkey, because she was starting to cut it up into even smaller pieces than she had been given, and was slipping them under the table to a certain hungry cat. He ate every last piece she gave, and she played off being full by eating little bits of everything else, before saying she was waiting for dessert.

They had all fallen for it, no one was paying attention, Lapis had kept her head down for quite a while after her and Steven finished talking. Peridot would get Lapis' attention again, the blue haired woman would love her again if she managed to keep this up.

Later that night, when everyone was sleepily chatting and watching movies with their desserts, Peridot snuck into the kitchen and threw hers out.


	20. Chapter 20

_**AN: Please comment if you like it! Reviews are EXTREMELY appreciated!**_

Pearl wanted to slam her phone into a wall, to scream with rage and demand to no longer have to be doing this. She had been so scared of the Lapis hurting Peridot that it had made her blind to the ways that Lapis had been helping Peridot. Getting her to eat, making sure she was getting enough rest, never forcing her to much of anything, letting her be happy and free, and creating an environment where Peridot could be her sweet, innocent self, safe from a rather cruel world.

The peach haired woman wanted to talk to Rose, to call this all off. It was hurting Peridot so badly to have Lapis ripped away from her like this. It was true that Peridot could be a little dependent, but it was more than clear to the French woman that Lapis had no intention of abusing that, she never had.

It was true that Lapis had been a bit smothering in the beginning according to the others, but she was mostly past that. The main issue was that she babied Peridot. The Greek girl did seem to love all the attention though, she did deserve lots of extra love after being driven out of her home by her psychotic mother at only 19, fresh out of the educational womb after going so quickly through schooling, just an innocent baby compared to the cruelties this world had to offer.

Just like her and her sisters. Pearl was in a wonderful home, Azul was trapped in a cage and being forced to serve Blue Diamond, and Jaune? Well Jaune was dead. Taken from the Pearl Cage two months before Pearl had made her escape, but never put back in. She never saw her younger sister ever again after that.

Maybe Jasper was right, maybe they HAD made an assumption on Lapis because of who her mother was. Pearl knew they certainly hadn't been treating her right. She had been trying for a while now to contact Rose, but to no avail. She must have had to destroy her phone, trying to contact her through her laptop was useless, as she had given it to Steven.

Speaking of Steven, a certain teen had passed out on a large air mattress curled up with Connie. The two had spent the night "camping", eating s'mores and ice cream inside a rather impressive pillow and blanket fort the two had built. Pearl loved those two, they were adorable to watch. She loved children in general, everyday she wished she could have kept her lost baby.

The sun was still gone, the others were fast asleep, safe and sound in their beds, it was nice to think about. She could hear footsteps coming towards her, Pearl hadn't realized someone had woken up. "Pearl? You there?" Sheena asked as she stepped into their kitchen. "Are you okay? You look ready to pass out." The pink haired woman asked when she got close, her voice filling with concern.

"I'm fine, I just... I still haven't gotten any word from Rose, this was such a bad idea Sheena, I don't know what to do anymore... I hate being in charge..." The French woman whispered, and her fiance hugged her tightly. "Did I wake you up?"

The taller woman shook her head. "No, couldn't sleep well. I don't like it when you're on watch duty." She explained, and the two of them sat close together on the pale grey couch in the living room. "Pearl, she's suffering... You can see how much pain she's in just by looking at her."

The peach haired woman nodded, guilt washing over her in fast waves. "I know, I want us to take Peridot-"

"I wasn't talking about Peridot." Sheena cut her off, "I want Peri to be happy too, don't get me wrong, but... She's not who I was talking about. You can see it Lapis' eyes, she's hurting, and not just because Peridot isn't with her. She thinks we don't trust her at all, that we all hate her, that none of us care how she feels about anything. Pearl I... I think we forgot that she was hurt too, Blue Diamond really hurt her, I mean she RAISED her, her own mother locked her up in a cell for years, had her beaten and dehumanized, you said it yourself, you saw her in there being whipped." Sheena spoke softly, her voice quivering as her words sunk in.

Pearl nodded, she remembered seeing Crystal, shackles around her wrists and ankles, Holly Blue standing over her with that dreaded whip, Crystal bleeding as she struggled to sit up, the deep scar on her back that she still hated to this day. Lapis still couldn't look in a mirror, still flinched away from being touched by someone bigger than her. Pearl remembered Rose reaching out to put a hand on Lapis' shoulder the day they had found her, the younger woman had recoiled as if she'd been hit. It seemed Lapis had made herself a horrible assumption, if someone was bigger than her, they wanted to hurt her...

Looking at that, was it any wonder she always tried make others feel smaller? She wanted them down to her level, to scare them and make them feel everything that she had felt in that cell. Hopeless and alone with nothing but her own mind.

Her mind didn't seem too friendly either.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli...?

"Hello?" She called out, looking around, she could barely make out anything as she stood in the dark. "Anyone? Where am I?"

"With me..." Her own voice echoed back to her, slowly Lapis walked towards the source of the sound. There, in the bathroom of her own home, the curtain gone exposing it for the frightened girl to see, was the mirror.

Her own eyes stared back at her, dark blue and intense, judging her every move. She saw her own face, tanned skin, freckles, staring back at her. But that was where the similarities ended.

Lapis' dress was a dark blue, the one her reflection wore was pink. It had brown hair, and despite Lapis' terrified expression, eyes wide and mouth barely open in an attempt to control her rapid breathing, her reflection had a chilling smile showing her teeth in that wide grin, eyes dead and soulless like a doll. "Hi Lapis... Did you miss me? I missed you so much, you left me, tried to forget about me, but I'm here, I'll always be here, no matter how much you push me away. We're one and the same."

"No I..." Lapis backed away, or at least she tried to, but her back hit a wall. "I-I'm nothing like you! You're dead!"

"Then why am I with you? Come on Lapis, you know what we need to do. Kill the others, destroy them, and the children while they sleep. Kill them all Lapis, it's what Blue wants, you don't want to upset your mother, do you?"

The blue haired woman wanted to vomit, she shook her head rapidly, she didn't want to hurt them, she didn't want any of what Crystal was saying! She was a monster, only wanted to hurt other people, no empathy, no feelings, only the urge to destroy other people, to break them.

"Lapis, I'm who you are, look in the mirror and who do you see? Haven't I done good for you? I took your pain away, when mother hit you, or almost made you drown, when you found out that you can't be loved, what did you do?"

"I... I let you in..." Lapis whispered, looking into the mirror at her reflection, which nodded and pressed its hands on the mirror's surface.

"That's right, I took it all away, you would listen to me, what happened last time you listened to me?"

The blue haired girl could feel the dead eyes staring straight into her, wanting to curl into herself Lapis replied softly, "I kidnapped Peri... I didn't want to, I didn't know what to do, being without her hurts... I couldn't just watch her-"

"So I gave you the idea, and you took it. Know why? Because you're soft, and weak. We could have been a DIAMOND! But no, you didn't want power, now look at you, chasing after this brat!"

At that moment, anger and hatred bubbled through Lapis' veins like magma, "She is not a brat! She's perfect, nothing like you! The Diamonds do nothing but hurt others, just like you!" Lapis screamed, "You are nothing but a voice, and I'm done listening to you!"

She was now left in the pitch black, Crystal now gone, but her laughter starting to ring in the blue haired woman's ears, crashing around as the ground seemed to give way under her feet. "Enjoy her while she lasts Lapis! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"Lapis?"

A voice startled her out of sleep, the blue haired woman gasped for air so hard her back arched off of her bed. She looked at the source of the voice, Amethyst. "You okay? You were growling in your sleep, and you were thrashing around."

"Why are you in my room?" She asked, and the short woman raised an eyebrow. "Did I wake you up?"

Amethyst shook her head. "Nah, just playing video games in my room, I woke up at like, 3 in the morning because I got too hot with all my blankets. Then I heard you making noise and thought I would check things out." The purple haired girl told her. "An uh... I wanted to know something."

Lapis propped herself up on her elbows. "What is it?"

"My roots are showing, and yours are about to, wanna re-dye now?" She asked, "Jasper did hers last week, and I need a bit of help with my mane." Said Amethyst, and she ruffled her own hair, if Lapis squinted she could make out the dark brown roots in the dark.

She suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought of her brown hair showing, of any sign of that monster coming back. This was how she wanted to look, this was who she was now, free to her own colours.

"Yeah, sure, now is... Now is good." She muttered and sat up. The two snuck quietly through the house to the bathroom, Amethyst had apparently expected her to say yes, as sitting on the counter where two towels, and two bottles of hair dye. "Thanks."

"No problem buddy."

TIME SKIP- 7:45am

After they had finally dried Amethyst's hair, Lapis had used her phone's camera to tell how well she had fixed her hair. It looked nice now, her soft bangs starting to curl, the blue colour now renewed making her smile. Amethyst was happy too, though she was complaining of hunger.

"I'm getting breakfast, come on. Pearl said Sheena was making the cinnamon puffs." She told the shorter woman, who gasped and raced out of the bathroom. Lapis following and sitting on the couch with Jasper, her gaze fixed on Peridot, who sat on the floor with her DS, Steven and Connie at her sides watching her play.

"Why aren't you trying to catch that one?" Connie asked her, without looking up Peridot replied very quickly.

"I don't like many ground types. Besides, I have one that can use Surf." She explained, and the teenager nodded. "I just need to heal them now, then I'll show you guys the next gym."

Steven smiled at her, "You're really good at this Peridot." He told her, and the blonde smiled with pride.

Lapis took a small breath and spoke up from where she sat. "She's the best gamer here, you guys should see her when she's more awake. It's impressive."

She watched as her angel's face turned red, was Peridot... Blushing? Lapis looked down at her hands and curled her knees in under the guise of being cold. She wanted to scream that she didn't hate the blonde, she could never hate her. Peridot was so precious to her, her whole world and so much more.

Jasper got up from her spot, "Alright, I'm gonna go get ready for work. Lapis, you gonna get dressed?" She asked, and the blue haired woman shook her head.

"Not until after I eat. And besides, work isn't for a while." She responded, and watched as Steven and Connie climbed up onto the couch where Jasper had been sitting. The Hawaiian girl remembered when Steven was shorter than her, along with Connie. Now the teenage girl was her height, and Steven was taller. No surprises there though, Rose was really tall.

Steven had been so patient with her, more-so than anyone she'd ever met. He was brave too, walking around in Blue Diamond's facility without his mother there, into the cell that contained what the others had called a dangerous creature, and hadn't been the least bit scared.

Or maybe he was, but had hidden it. Either way, he had approached her with a gentle smile, talked with her despite her telling him to go away, and helped to make her into who she was today. Giving her a name, a sliver of hope, and her new favourite food, chocolate.

Lapis had sworn to protect him, and help with anything he needed, Steven kept trying to say she didn't need to repay him, but in all honesty... She just wanted to. The blue haired woman was lonelier than she wanted to admit, Jasper no longer living with her, and no pets as many animals seemed to hate her. She wanted a friend.

Now she wanted a family.

TIME SKIP- 4:30am

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Peridot frowned at the plate in front of her, Pearl had given her a snack to eat, the blonde suspecting that Pearl had caught on to the low amount of food she'd eaten at dinner, and hadn't eaten any dessert. But the thing was, she didn't want excess food, she was trying to lose weight desperately. If she did, maybe Lapis would pay attention to her again...

The tiny blonde hadn't eaten any of her lunch, and only a single egg for breakfast. Pearl didn't like that one bit, and hadn't bought the younger girl's lie that she was just too tired.

So crackers, salsa and some ever so slightly spicy cheese sat before her, the smell of it making the blonde's stomach growl. She took a few bites, and wanted to groan.

It was delicious, like everything else she'd been given. Pearl said it was healthy though... A few extra bites wouldn't hurt, just as a way of saying 'Hey thanks for not poisoning me, your food is better than my grandma's cooking, and she's Greek.'

A knock at the door startled her... More than she'd like to admit. Peridot had made a rather loud "Nyah!" Sound, and Sheena rushed to the door, as protective as a mother bear. Though the pink haired girl smiled a second later and opened the door.

"Hello?" Cat asked as she entered, Aqua right behind her. "We brought food!"

Peridot's heart fell. More? Seriously? She had a snack already, and had eaten all of it, as guilty as it made her feel.

She looked up at the tall woman as Aqua walked into the kitchen with a box. "Where were you at Thanksgiving?" She asked.

"We celebrate by ourselves. I can't eat pork, which is what the gravy was from, and I can't mix meat with cheese. So Aqua and I just have our own food at home." The black haired woman told her with that same gentle smile. Peridot liked this girl, she was always super nice to people.

That and the size difference between her and Aqua was amusing. The odd woman barely came up to her wife's shoulders, not to mention Cat had quite a bit of muscle, looking somewhat like Jasper... Or kind of like her brothers.

Peridot felt her heart give a tiny squeeze at the thought of her older brothers. They loved celebrating Thanksgiving, what with the fact that their mother was an excellent cook (and definitely the reason Peridot had been a rather chubby little kid) and their father... Was wonderful. They loved her, at one point her mother had loved her too, though in all honesty, Peridot was sure that Nora had been manic-depressive.

She was thankful to not have inherited it, she had enough to worry about, buying medication would have been one more thing on her list of 'how much of this low pay BS can I take before I try and become a stripper?'

The tiny girl huffed and curled up tighter, wrapping a thick blue blanket around herself that Pearl had given her last night after an... Incident. After getting out of an incredibly steamy bathroom and into a cold hallway Peridot's chest had started to ache, Pearl (and Lapis) had been frightened when the pale girl had come up to them complaining of chest pain.

They'd wrapped her up in a blanket like a fluffy little burrito, given her a hot water bottle to curl up with, and had sat the tiny woman near the warm oven to heat up her freezing body. Peridot knew why the others were scared, even if she wasn't ready to admit to it.

The blonde watched Aqua head into the kitchen, the odd women was talking with Pearl, Jasper and Amethyst. The blonde could only hear snippets of the conversation, she knew Aqua was talking though, she recognized the accent. "Dentist... Tomorrow... Tranquilizer for Lapis..." The doctor whispered. Peridot felt bad for snickering, but she couldn't help it, the thought of the terrifying mobster needing to be put to sleep before going to the dentist.

"All she's doing is getting her teeth cleaned, why does still need it? It's been years." She could hear Pearl talking now, she was louder than Aqua, much easier to listen to. But Amethyst was the loudest of the three by far.

"P she nearly bit his fingers off! It's either we give her a little nap or get arrested because the guy will tell the cops who we are!" The short girl hissed, Peridot stopped smiling. Okay, that was a little terrifying.

The blonde pushed it out of her head when Cat sat beside her, the bigger woman had a pleasant smile and held out a little plate to Peridot. "Try it, it's really good, and well... No offence but... You look like you could use a good meal."

Peridot resisted the urge to grumble and huff, she took the plate from the black haired girl. "What is it?" She asked.

"Peach crumble, we made it at my house. Peridot, right? I remember you from Amethyst's. How's Lapis' leg doing?" Cat asked in that strange high voice, she spoke so fast it took the Greek woman a second to think of how to respond to her.

"W-well uh, yeah. Her leg is a lot better. I think the stitches came out last night, you guys said they weren't going to be in for very long so... Yes, they came out." She explained, and took a few bites of her food. Peridot felt sick, it was bad enough her lower body was starting to be wracked with cramps, but now she just felt absolutely disgusting.

It hadn't helped when she remembered hunger pain driving her into the kitchen, just for something small. Amethyst had been there (sneaking food so she and her sister could eat) and had given Peridot a piece of pie along with leftovers. "It's good, thanks Cat."

The tall woman grinned, "You're welcome. Hey Peridot?" Her voice changed, still high as always but... Serious. The tone of a concerned mother, worried about Peridot's ailing health... Was it that obvious? "I just want you to know hun, if you need to talk about anything at all, I'll listen. It's my job, I'm a psychiatrist, I help all of these people. If you told me anything I wouldn't tell anyone, I promise." She said quietly and gently, putting a hand on Peridot's back, right over her shoulder blade.

"Okay." Said Peridot, and she hugged the older girl. There was the sound of people coming down the stairs, then the sound of Lapis clearing her throat.

The Greek girl turned around and felt her cheeks blush up to the colour of cherries. Lapis had spent a long time getting ready, and now Peridot knew why.

The Hawaiian wore a dark blue strapless dress that hugged her in all the right places, the skirt of it flaring out to ripple like water as she walked. Her bangs had their soft curl as always, but now the parts that hung by her cheeks had been curled into tiny loose ringlets. The tan woman's dress may have gone to her ankles, but its heart-shaped cut around her chest gave Peridot a... Rather nice view. The blacks heels she wore made the blonde's heart pound and her breath die in her throat; along with the choker around her neck, diamond-studded with a single lapis lazuli hanging off of it.

Her now blue lips held a smirk and a single eyebrow was raised over dark eyes with perfect eyeliner and eyeshadow, black and blue. Dark, imposing, powerful, and she damn well knew she was gorgeous... Especially in those heels that made Peridot flush red and gulp.

"Peridot? Come on let's go. Jasper's waiting, you're coming with me to the bar we own. Don't talk to anyone who doesn't bear mine or Jasper's symbol, you can drink juice or iced tea and keep your hand over the top of your drink." Lapis said to her, and the blonde jumped up from her spot, her food only had a few bites taken out of it, she handed the plate to Pearl as Lapis slipped long black silk gloves on.

"Can you put this in a container? I'll eat it later, I have to go!" She chirped, finally feeling happy to be able to go out with Lapis.

... She phrased that wrong. What she meant was to go SOMEWHERE with Lapis. Yes, that was it.

The blonde decided to leave her DS in the house, and she quickly followed Lapis outside. It was cold, a thin layer of snow over the ground sparkling as brightly as the jewel that hung from Peridot's neck. Her outfit was much simpler than the blue haired girl's, a green sweater that covered her up nicely and a thin white blouse underneath. She now wore two layers of clothes, just like she had as a sickly child back in Greece, born a month early in a horrific summer storm that had turned to flash flooding. Even as a toddler the weather had been a constant nightmare until they'd moved to Canada.

Man, the young woman's life had been an adventure from the very beginning.

...

Peridot wondered how her brothers and father were, how their Thanksgiving was.

And that... Diamond family... What were their holidays like?

TIME CHANGE- Yesterday, 7:30pm

POV SHIFT- Yellow Diamond

She was going to KILL Pink. And Blue too for that matter. She hated both of them. Actually...

White could go as well. All three of them.

Oh hell was DEFINITELY not as hot as she thought it would be. Yellow hated the holidays, they got worse every year. White smoked constantly with the smell driving the blonde up the wall. Pink was a constant chatterbox with that shrill voice, and how could she do such horrible things with a smile? She tried to push the feelings away but Yellow KNEW that the killings, the human pets... It was all so wrong...

The blonde had never been given much of a choice though, White had carved that mark into her chest when they had been teens, she never wanted to live like this. Blue hadn't cared, she'd sat there and let White take the blade to her chest, the only thing her sister cared for at that point was the boy she was obsessed with. Pink had only been a toddler when White had burned her.

And no, it hadn't been some little 'Oh Blue has a crush how cute!'. No. She had literally attacked others who even dared to speak badly about him, wouldn't let him out of her sight, stalked the boy almost constantly and threatened any girl who dared show interest in him.

Jason, that had been his name. He'd been a good person, a doctor, Yellow remembered him trying to persuade Blue to stop this, to stop hurting others. Blue never listened.

There was one secret between the two sisters that they would keep forever. Blue had once done more than just threaten, she had murdered another girl at only 16 years old. They had been in the bathroom, Blue following her in hiding a knife in her coat that she had stolen from a cooking class. She had snuck up behind the other girl and had stabbed her, a hand over her mouth to make sure she wouldn't scream. Blue had been wearing long gloves to make sure she didn't get any fingerprints on things, or blood on her.

The second that girl was dead Blue had come running out of the bathroom, everything she had hidden away, screaming that she had walked in and found the girl killed. Their school was too old for security cameras, she'd gotten away with murder at 16 thanks to a pair of gloves.

No wonder she'd taught Crystal to love wearing them just as much.

Blue's eyesight was failing her now, though with the way she did certain things you'd think she had sharp eyes. She could still shoot with extreme accuracy, and due to wanting to make her husband happy she had learned a lot about a human's body, including which veins were good for injections. (Or blood-work, apparently it was harder than it looked!)

Her sister was working on a project too, Project Cluster. Yellow had no idea what it was going to be for, and frankly she didn't care. If her sister wanted to play God that was fine by her.

"She should be here... With us..." Blue said for what must have been the hundredth time tonight. If she wasn't talking about her husband she was talking about the girl she raised and couldn't let go of.

Crystal, Yellow's niece. Yellow had somewhat liked the child, she was strong and had plenty of potential to be the next Diamond. All she had left to do was have an Initiation Pet, and to take an innocent life... They had all done it, Crystal was either supposed to be next in line after one of them died, or would just be a fifth Diamond.

The tall woman watched her pearl stand off to the side, not allowed to eat yet with her sister. That was only allowed after the Diamonds were finished. Limone stood away from them with Bella, the smaller girl kept moving her bangs to peek at the doctor nearby, Misty. The blonde woman knew Bella had a crush on the lightly pregnant woman, she personally didn't care.

Yellow fought back a smirk at the memory of finding the little doctor back on a trip to New Orleans. She had known about a local homeless woman, who'd just lost her parents, quite emotional certainly, and a pretty young lady. She'd be perfect for them.

The blonde had hired a young man, given him a knife and sent him down the alley where Misty had been hiding, had him threaten her a little only for Yellow to swoop in and 'save' her. Worked every time, it had even worked on Olive.

Ugh, Limone still had to find her, Yellow wasn't letting her off the hook for losing Olive right when they were about to bring her in, make Limone a new Diamond with a tiny green pearl at her side. They'd never lost someone like this before, no one could figure out where Olive had gone, she'd vanished overnight without a trace.

And then in a fit of exhaustion Limone had the NERVE to push Olive away when she'd called. Her pearl was lucky that Yellow liked her. She was obedient, beautiful, strong-willed, and patient, however she needed to keep better track of her things, and to control her temper.

"Yes Blue, we know. You're only said it constantly today." Yellow snarked, and Pink started laughing. "What are you giggling about?"

"It's just, she's right! She should, we're her family. I don't get why Ro-" Pink stopped smiling and shut her mouth (for once) before she could finish the name. Saying that name wasn't allowed, Rose was a traitor to the Diamonds, she'd stolen things from them. Their best fighter, Ruby and Sapphire's child who had damaged Blue's sight, Pink and White's pearl, a valuable pet, a doctor (along with another fighter), and Blue's daughter.

"Then why isn't she here? Crystal is one of us, a Diamond, we should be looking for her." Blue hissed. "Bella, arrange a patrol of Beach City's border, to see if my baby can be rescued." She ordered, and the short pearl bowed before saluting to Blue.

"Yes, My Diamond."

Yellow continued eating, it was deathly quiet until her sister, White, started to cough again. Her smoking was catching up with her, the blonde and her other sisters watched as Misty quickly walked up to her and offered a tissue. The albino woman took it and coughed into it a little. Pink was staring at the candles on the table, entranced by the flames and no longer caring what happened around her. Blue was gazing at the picture on the wall, the photo they had all taken so long ago, when Crystal was only 5 years old, looking like a little doll that her psychotic mother had dressed up. But Yellow? Yellow saw something else.

White had stopped coughing and had put the tissue in the pocket of her pure white coat.

All over the tissue were tiny flecks of blood.


	21. Chapter 21

_**AN: Warning for eating disorder, abuse, and Lapis' hallucinations. I hope you can brave it, because a very special L word is at the end of this chapter. Also, this fic's one year anniversary is coming up! November 26th is the date I go by. Happy Birthday Yandere Lapis/ Su Mafia Au.**_

"Ruby!"

"Sapphire! Let her go you Diamond bas-"

"ENOUGH!" Blue Diamond roared as the two were thrown into a cell, Ruby slammed her fist on the door, leaving a slight dent, but no more than that. The two lovers held each others hands, they'd been caught near the border of Beach City and Homeworld by a patrol, and had been snatched away, dragged to the nearest Diamond facility.

Screams filled the air, it was freezing in this place, Ruby held Sapphire behind her and glared at Blue Diamond. "You god damn freak!" She shouted, the pearl beside her flinched, Ruby's reddish brown eyes widened at the sight of Pearl's sister, Azul. She recognized her from back when Blue Diamond had first found them.

Blue Diamond hadn't reacted, her piercing gaze stood strong as the short women held each other close. "Aquamarine, where did you find them?" The tall woman asked a tiny girl who stood by her side, some odd device in her hands.

This tiny woman spoke with a slightly strong British accent. "Just off the coast My Diamond, hiding from us. I of course spotted them, I am the best at finding-"

"I believe I asked for their former location, not an autobiography." Blue growled, Aquamarine's face turned red and she stepped aside, the scar on her cheek clearly visible.

"Y-yes... My Diamond..."

Sapphire's bright blue eyes were filled with hate. "Let us go, or the Crystal Gems will find out, and hunt you down, they'll kill you!"

Blue Diamond didn't look afraid, she looked more... Curious. "And what makes you think I fear death? Tell me, Sophie, where my daughter is, and freedom is yours."

Ruby growled at her, this woman was out of her mind! "We're not tellin' you a thing! We'd never turn on them." The brunette glared at her and felt Sapphire squirm in her arms. "Sapphire?"

Her wife was giving their captor a death glare. "You can put us through anything, I'm not selling out Lapis. Or any of them. We'll be your prisoners, but if you want me to spill, do yourself a favour and fuck off."

The cell seemed to grow colder, Ruby fought off the creeping fear that had tried to wiggle its way into her heart. They'd be stuck here as long as this woman wanted them to be here. Blue slammed the door, her poor eyes seething as her pearl quivered beside her.

Click!

A tiny orange glow filled the room, Ruby had taken her lucky lighter out of her shorts pocket. She wasn't a smoker, but it was something she had taken from her home when she'd run away with Sapphire. It had run out many times, but it could easily be refilled. The two of them sat in the corner of the freezing cell, huddling and listening to the people outside.

"Ruby, we can make it out of this, I know it. We've been in worse." Sapphire whispered, and she nodded before taking her wife's hand.

"We'll get out of this, and we'll do it together."

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli (4 days left of Hell Week)

Oh it felt good to be desired. She knew she was beautiful, the customers here loved it when she worked, she was good to them. A few extra shots to those who paid well, she behaved herself and was well spoken, and Lapis would be damned if she wasn't a good listener.

The Hawaiian woman had made sure Peridot was nice and safe behind the counter with Jasper. The blonde had been given iced tea and, god bless, eaten something. Mind you, in Lapis' opinion the nachos here weren't the best, but if they were tempting enough to get her little angel to give in and eat something then the blue haired girl was happy.

She had been in charge of mixing some of the drinks before the bar opened, there were some rather nice regulars who had pre-ordered them. Jasper loved working here, Lapis had the feeling that the buff woman would gladly call this place her home if it weren't for her love of the coast.

Lapis made her way over to the table of the regulars, all of them already drunk. "Hiya!" She said with fake cheer and made sure to bat her eyelashes a little as she moved in closer to them, the same thing she always did even before she could feel anything other than hate. Her job was to flirt with people, trick them into working for her. Lapis was Beach City's Siren.

"Hey, y'know what?" One of them asked, his voice slurring ever so slightly. "Last time I was here... You said you've gotta job for me, what is it?"

On the inside, the blue haired woman was smirking, on the outside though she had forced herself to look surprised. "Oh! Are you sure you really want to take the offer? It can be a lot of work, helping me and the others out." She told him before reaching out to grab a tray from the center of the table. "Though... I'm sure someone as strong as you could do it all by yourself." Lapis purred and let the back of her gloved hand brush gently under his chin.

Just like that, everyone at the table was gawking at her, the man's face had turned a new shade of reddish pink. The tan woman reached into her bra and pulled out a small paper with her number on it. "Here, in case you want to. See you later handsome." She winked, blew them all a kiss, and walked away.

"You're fucking disgusting, you know that?" Jasper asked as she sat at one of the seats and placed the empty tray on the counter. Lapis rolled her eyes, sighing with a bit of relief that her feet could rest a little. She'd gotten used to the feeling of high heels long ago, but they could still hurt a little sometimes.

"I don't care. I couldn't care less about any of them. I just need some sucker who'll fall for this bullshit." She took a sip of the water Jasper had offered her before noticing that Peridot was no longer at her little safe spot hidden behind the counter. "Where is she?"

"Relax, wolf. She went to the bathroom." The white haired girl had an ever so slight smirk as Lapis' eyes widened a little.

"By herself?"

Jasper leaned over to the angry woman, she was one of the few mafia members who knew exactly how to deal with Lapis' fits. "Laz, I'm gonna tell you something that MIGHT come as a shock to you. Peridot's an adult, 23 years old."

The blue haired girl huffed. "I know, I just worry about her, she's too thin, and I don't know how well she's feeling, especially since..." She let her voice trail off. For a second the amber eyes before her had filled with confusion before the dark skinned woman howled with laughter. "Not funny!"

"Alright, yeah, I feel bad for her, but god your face! I've never really seen you get flustered before!" She served a few people more drinks. "And no, she isn't really alone. Your buddy's here... What the hell's his name... Issac?"

Lapis' face lit up. "Yes!" She cheered. Issac was her (brand new since Felix had been killed) right hand man. He was loyal to her, and certainly trustworthy in her eyes. He had to be, she was about to trust him with the most precious jewel in the entire world. Her sweet Peridot.

He was a tall beanpole of a man with messy black hair and dark skin, in an odd little way he reminded her of Garnet. Without the cool eyes though, and he didn't have the sunglasses either. Oh well.

She spotted him sitting alone at a tiny table, a peaceful smile on his face as he looked up at the chandelier. Lapis quickly walked over, ignoring the people dancing together as she sat across from him. "Hi Lady Lazuli, you called me?"

With a nod, Lapis handed him a few hundred dollar bills. "You need to take Peridot out tomorrow, take her for ice cream and get her anything she wants, I'll pay you back double. Whatever you do, don't tell her much about what I do. I don't want her upset. Let her rest if she gets tired, don't stress her out, and make sure she eats."

He nodded and smiled at her. "You have my word boss, she'll be getting all the respect in the world, I promise." She liked him, he hadn't even questioned why he was doing this.

"She'd better. Hurt her, and no one is going to find what's left of you."

TIME SKIP- 3 days left of Hell Week

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

She was sitting in a sleek black car, staring out of the tinted windows as the heater warmed her up. Lapis was away now at the dentist's, though Peridot wasn't alone. One of the men who worked for the blue haired mafia boss had showed at the bar and gently led the delicate girl over to the car. The blonde yawned and shivered, leaning on the seat-belt as he pulled up to the same ice cream spot Lapis had brought her to back when... Back when she cared...

"I don't want ice cream, I'm not hungry." She said robotically, and she could feel his gaze on her.

"Miss, you have to eat something. Even if it isn't ice cream, still something, come on, you wanna know a secret?" He asked her, and Peridot looked over at him curiously. "This place has the best burgers, not even kidding. My pickiest kid absolutely loves them."

Peridot's eyes widened, "You, you have kids?" She was shocked! She never even thought of the possibility that someone in this line of work had ordinary life, like having a picky kid at home that you loved so much you'd take them to a back part of town just to get good food.

Issac smiled at her. "Yeah, two boys, Marcus and Valentino, 8 and 5... I love them to the moon and back. That's why I like working for Lady Lazuli, she pays well, and even promised to help my kids through any schooling they need. She's a sweet woman on the inside, you help with that."

They both got out of the car, and the tall man ordered her a cheeseburger. Peridot walked over to a table and sat down with a sigh, he wasn't kidding when he said it was good, though she still wasn't happy. "So, Issac? How long have you been working for Lapis?"

He went quiet, not the bad kind though. His eyes narrowed and he seemed to be doing a little count on his fingers. "About... A year and a half, I think. Give or take a few months. Why?"

The Greek woman swallowed down another bite, her burger was half finished from how hungry she was, although Peridot was starting to already feel full. "I'm curious, what does she offer you so you'll work for her?"

At the question Issac started to laugh. "Oh god, her normal tactic never worked on me. I wanted to work for her 'cause I felt like it. She promised me good pay, and I take it to feed my family.

Peridot frowned. "Well, what does she offer others? And why didn't it work for you?"

Issac's warm eyes filled with love, a goofy smile on his face. "I've already got a man at home. He loves me, and I love him and our kids. I don't need Lady Lazuli to flirt with... Me..." The black man stared at her. "I shouldn't have said that... Should not have have said that. Y-y'know what? Forget what I said, uh..."

No... It wasn't true... Peridot had gotten the awful feeling that Lapis had been flirting with the patrons that night at the bar, but now it seemed her suspicions had been confirmed. Lapis... Didn't love her anymore. It was odd, how quickly Peridot's sliver of happiness could drain into sadness before it trickled into anger.

She left her half-eaten lunch behind her as she stormed off, arms crossed over her chest and nails digging tiny crescent moon shaped marks into her palms. So, Lapis liked to flirt with other people? Great. Fucking wonderful. The blonde already felt ignored, now she knew why. Lapis didn't want her anymore, she truly didn't care anymore, and if she did she had taken it away for Peridot must have done something wrong.

Tears of sorrow and rage slipped down porcelain cheeks as the blonde sat on the freezing pavement near the snowy grass, hands wrapped around herself to try and stop the pain. Her heart hurt, as did her stomach, her head, and... Everything else. Peridot's shoulders shook and she sniffled. She didn't want to cry, she really didn't, not here, not in public...

"Miss Peridot! Please, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" Issac shouted as he ran to her, putting a thick coat around her shoulders. "Please, you're gonna get sick, come on-"

"No." She shook her head, the cold biting into her thin body as she turned away. "Look, you're nice, and I like you, but she hate-"

"Miss, Lady Lazuli doesn't hate you, and she would never betray you. She loves you, and no one BUT you. You're the only one in the world who can actually make her happy. I've worked for her for a long time, and... And nobody has gotten her to care about ANYTHING the way you do." Issac told her. "That's why she wanted me out here with you. She wants you to eat, she's worrying about you, even if she can't show it. She... She's in danger Peridot, her job involves her putting her life on the line sometimes. She's scared, and I don't think she can handle it well, not at all..."

The blonde had no words. Maybe... Maybe Lapis just had a hard time with emotions, she'd claimed that having feelings was new to her. Peridot hugged Issac, shivering as he walked her back over to the warmed car. "O-okay..." She murmured. "Just... Bring my lunch to me. I'll eat in here."

And she did.

TIME SKIP- Still 3 days left of Hell week.

Peridot shivered in the bathroom, slipping her clothes off without any effort. Apparently Lapis was sleeping in her room. She hadn't gotten to see her all day...

Issac had been so nice to her, driving her around the city and talking to her about anything she wanted. He had let her rest in the back of the car, her stomach had been upset, the blonde feeling bloated and disgusting until she had been given some kind of pill. The pain in her stomach faded, and she fell right to sleep. It would be her embarrassment to find out later that it was just a simple painkiller and that she had basically been placebo-d.

Now it was late, time for her shower. She pulled the curtain over the mirror back and looked at herself. Peridot focused... She was a sad sight. Ribs sticking out, hip bones clearly showing, all 79 pounds of her covered in goosebumps as her body could no longer hold heat properly. Peridot couldn't run anymore, could hardly handle too much heat, and all she wanted to do was cry.

She wanted to stop, but... How? It wasn't as simple as 'shove food in your mouth'. She was sick.

Peridot stepped into the shower, shivering as the warm water ran down her pale skin. She loved this feeling, the water was soothing. Maybe Lapis really wasn't feeling good, maybe she really was scared and this was her trying to pull a brave face... Maybe Peridot wasn't good enough to have her love, and this was some sick kind of punishment to show her that Lapis was unhappy with her...

'Maybe she's just not interested in you anymore.' Peridot sat in the tub and whimpered. The voice in her head was different now. It wasn't her own, mocking her as if an unhappy parent.

It was Limone's voice, the girl who promised to be honest. Her girlfriend, who she missed desperately now, even if they'd fought and Limone had said some rather nasty things. Her girlfriend loved her, Peridot was sure of it.

FLASHBACK

Olive was beaming from ear to ear, cheeks pink as she headed towards the park. The Greek woman had gotten out of the hospital less than a week ago for fainting during the heat wave and nearly giving Limone a panic attack. Speaking of the older woman, she'd asked Olive if she wanted to go on a date, walking through the little park. Olive had calmly said yes, then hung up the phone and squealed loudly.

The blonde had been given a cell phone from her girlfriend, a belated birthday present since she'd been waiting for the new model to come in. That was besides the point though, Olive couldn't fight the smile away as she looked through the pictures on it. She didn't have many, but she did have one of her and Limone snuggled together, the older woman drifting into sleep.

"Olive!" A voice called from the park entrance making the little blonde look up. There she was, dressed in a golden yellow sweater and a long greenish yellow skirt that went don to her knees was her beautiful girlfriend. "There you are, I had trouble parking my car, the roads here get so crowded!"

She chuckled. "It's firework night at the boardwalk, you can see them from here apparently." Olive remarked, Limone nodded, and adjusted her scarf. The taller girl had a circular scar on her chest, she claimed it was from an accident years ago, almost like the one Olive had on her forehead.

"I see." Limone said curtly, and Olive looked up at the pink and violet sky, the sun was setting quickly, she wondered if Limone would want to see the fireworks. "Ahem."

The Greek girl looked over at her girlfriend, the French woman had outstretched a hand to her. Olive looked up at her, Limone's gaze wasn't meeting her eyes. "Ahem!" She cleared her throat again, much louder this time.

"Uh, o-oh." Olive stuttered and got the hint. She took the older woman's hand and the two walked through the park, talking about their siblings.

Olive spoke about her brothers, how she was the youngest of the bunch, and how funny it was (to her at least) that their first initials spelt out 'L, M, N, O'. She learned that Limone had two sisters, they were triplets too, and that Limone herself was the middle child. Olive could tell that talking about Limone's sisters hurt, judging by the somber look in her eyes, did something happen to them? Was it related to the nightmares Limone had?

Olive didn't ask.

It had gotten dark quickly, and Olive's stomach was starting to growl, she hated it. When her girlfriend had slipped away to take a phone call the young blonde had gone up to a hot dog stand and gotten a hot dog for herself. She didn't think Limone would like one.

Oh, her girlfriend had been PISSED. "Olive, what the hell?! You told me you were going to knock that off! I told you, eating all this junk isn't good for you, why can't you listen for once? Eating like a god damn pig isn't something you should be doing on a date, it's disgusting!"

Olive had apologized, and the two went to her apartment. Limone had stormed out, leaving Olive frustrated and angry, thinking of wanting to break up with the older woman, even if she knew she never could. She called her a few hours later, but before she could even get a word in Limone had snarled at her.

"Don't even THINK of calling me to hang out with you until you lose that GUT." Limone had snapped and hung up the phone. Olive slid down the wall, and buried her face in her hands. She hadn't wanted to go to work the next day, she was hurting, but she needed the rent money.

There had been no customers that day, except one.

Olive had been about ready to just go home, when there was a knock on the door. She was able to press the button to open it quickly, it must have seemed like she was waiting for the person. And what a person indeed! An absolutely gorgeous, rich looking woman with blue hair. Olive forced a smile. "Oh! Hello ma'am, my name is Olive Odelet... But you probably knew that, a-anyway, I'm kinda new in town but I've never seen you around before... What's your name?"

"Lapis Lazuli. I'm here for maintenance on my car."

Peridot smiled at her memories, she really had fallen into a crush on the taller woman that day. She'd had no idea she had been talking to a mobster, or flirting with the woman who would change her life forever.

On the next morning, Lapis was no where to be found. She had left, and not a soul knew where she was. Safe to say, there was a bit of panic. She hadn't come back all day, or night, and wasn't answering her phone.

Peridot managed to catch a glimpse of Steven and all the Mafia members crying and holding each other in Pearl's room. The blonde went in and joined them.

TIME SKIP- 2 days/nights left of Hell Week

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

"Alright Lapis, just relax, and turn on the radio, it'll all be over soon, you'll see her again. It's just" The Hawaiian girl told herself. She took a deep shuddering breath and turned the radio on. She had been hiding in different parts of Beach City all day, keeping her phone on silent. Lapis had over 100 missed calls and over 500 messages from the others. They probably just wanted her to do something for them. She sighed and turned on the radio, it was time to go where she wanted, no, NEEDED to be.

'What hurts the most, was being so close-'

Click!

'Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?'

Click!

'Say something I'm giving up on you...'

Click!

Lapis slammed her hand onto the mute button. "LITERALLY FUCK OFF!" She screeched to the radio. She sighed, her focus splitting. "What did I do to deserve this?"

It was dark out, she was tired. The blue haired woman had managed to slip out of the house when Jasper went to shower at the end of her night watch shift. Lapis hadn't told anyone where she was going either, it wasn't like they'd care about where she went. None of them liked her in the least, they were all just waiting for her to drop her guard so they could punish her for her mother's crimes.

As it turned out, maybe the blue haired criminal should pay more attention while driving, especially at night. Lapis looked up just in time to slam her foot on the breaks, a deer stood out in the road, just a few feet from her car. She was shaking, her hands covered her mouth. The deer was huge, it could have hurt her so badly if she'd hit it.

Why wasn't she focusing? What the hell was wrong with her?

The tan woman slowly moved her car away from the deer and onto the side of the road. She pulled the key out, unbuckled her seat belt and curled into a ball in her seat. Lapis grabbed her phone, and with shaky hands, dialed Jasper's number.

It rang once before the tall woman picked up. "Hello?! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Lapis took in gulps of air, her chest felt tight and her mind felt as though it was detaching from the rest of her. "Jasper please... I can't drive, not like this, please I..."

Jasper's voice became soft. "Hey, what's wrong? Where are you? I'll come get you, I'll have someone take your car to your house-"

"My house."

The white haired woman's tone was the type you'd use to soothe a scared kid. "Yeah, your house. In the cave, in part of Beach City's coast-"

"No!" Lapis snapped. "The... The old one, t-the one I lived in when I was little, the one near Ocean Town..." She rocked in her seat, trying to calm herself down. She knew going to her old home might be a bad idea, but no one lived in it, it was abandoned and a place she could take her emotions out on. She hadn't seen it since she'd lived there.

There was a small bit of silence, and Lapis feared that Jasper would hang up the phone. Then, a light sigh came through. "Alright. Just stay put, okay? Don't get out of your car, just tell me the road okay? Do you understand me?"

Lapis smiled ever so slightly. "Yeah." She gave her the road name, and waited.

10 minutes later, Jasper arrived. A woman got out of the car with her, she worked for the white haired girl. The Hawaiian unlocked her car, and Jasper pulled her out before picking her up. The woman got into Lapis' car and drove away. "You wanna go to your old house?" Jasper asked her, upon seeing her nod the buff woman gently placed Lapis in the back of her car.

It was 1 in the morning by the time they reached the old abandoned Diamond manor. Lapis grabbed the baseball bat that Jasper kept in the back seat, and stepped out of the car. "I'm baaack!" She whispered to herself in a sing-song voice. "Did you miss me?"

Jasper leaned back in her seat. "I'll be out here if you need me." She muttered.

The blue haired woman grinned as she walked up the cracked stone steps to her old home. She remembered falling on those when she was little, and being slapped across the face for simply asking for a bandage. The windows were cracked, plants wilted, the pale blue walls faded and chipped.

All it took was one good swing with her bat to bust the doorknob off, and Lapis pushed the now creaking door open. A door she wasn't allowed to walk about until she had finished practising how to look 'normal' in front of a mirror. A door she hadn't been allowed to leave without covering her neck should her mother leave bruises on her neck after grabbing and squeezing.

Blue Diamond had beaten her, left her with scratches and bruises and that HIDEOUS scar on her back.

She had been the one to make Lapis so damn terrified of being seen as imperfect. SHE had been the one to turn her into this monster. Blue Diamond had locked Lapis in a cell for nearly 3 whole years, slapped her, whipped her, starved her, chained her down and beat her until she passed out.

Anger and hatred bubbled up inside of Lapis. She raised her bat and swung down on an old table, smiling as it collapsed onto the floor. The blue haired girl started to giggle as she walked into the kitchen, watching as the dusty floor became clean again, the lights started working, and her younger self tried to get onto the counter for food.

Blue Diamond walked in, and grabbed the little girl's neck before throwing her onto the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you? I told you to wait for dinner, idiot." She hissed at Crystal, but the child hadn't wanted much, just a single cookie her mother would never let her have, she wasn't allowed to have chocolate, even if her aunt was allowed to.

Crystal looked up at her mother, and opened her mouth to speak, but the lights went out again, and they were gone. It was dark in the house, the only light being that from her phone's flashlight which gleamed in the dusty air.

Of course, she had no memories of being an infant, but her mind loved to create pictures. Blue Diamond crouched by the front door, the front hall lit up, and though the door was open Lapis couldn't see Jasper's car, and since when was it raining?

Blue picked up a little basket from the porch, inside was a baby girl wrapped up in a soft white blanket, a note attached to her. Oh, this was the night blue had found her as a baby, that's why Jasper wasn't there, they were in Hawaii.

But then they weren't as the lights faded again. Blue Diamond disappeared. Lapis walked through the kitchen, slamming her baseball bat down onto the microwave, the old cookie jar, and the awful mirror in there. She started to laugh harder, listening to the sound of an old music box... Upstairs?

It stopped when she got up there, but along the halls were pictures of Crystal as a child with her mother. Lapis shoved the end of the bat into them, shattering the glass before reaching in carefully and ripping the pictures to shreds.

Lapis walked to the end of the hall, and opened the door at the end. It was her old nursery, the crib still there, along with the blanket her birth parents had her wrapped up in. The old wood creaked as Lapis walked over to it. The mobile that hung above had little pink stars on it, the blue haired girl took it and threw it against the wall, watching in delight as they crashed onto the floor.

She held her bat, and took a deep breath. With a few swings she destroyed her old crib, went into Blue's room and started to destroy things in there. Lamp, pillows, and lots of pictures. Blue Diamond had been obsessive over taking pictures of her in those stupid pink dresses that Lapis hated, she hated the colour pink, and had made sure to rip up those old dresses.

Lapis stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the mirror. Taped back together save for a single piece, the last thing Blue had done before leaving the house to rot. Lapis stared into it, looking at her own face. Same blue eyes, freckles, fluffy hair, bangs that curled, it was the same. She couldn't stand her own imperfections, hated them. She looked into her reflection's eyes, the eyes of a killer, a monster...

Her breath hitched when she saw small red tears slide down her cheeks, blood. Lapis raised a hand to her face, but when she pulled it away there was nothing there. Rage burned inside her as she screamed and shattered the mirror all over again. She wouldn't leave until every piece of her childhood had been destroyed.

She would stay until the chains it had around her would break.

TIME SKIP- Last day/night of Hell Week

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Jasper had left in the middle of the night. It turned out Lapis was okay, but needed the white haired woman for something. Peridot had breathed the biggest sigh of relief in her life. Lapis was okay, she was alive, she wasn't hurt, and she had scared them all half to death. Peridot wanted nothing more than to jump into her arms and hug her tight. She missed Lapis so much, it was killing her.

Everyone had been so happy, happy to know that the blue haired girl was alive and well. Tears had been shed, this time for a different reason.

She and Jasper still weren't back yet though, Lapis had been away from her for 3 whole days now... Peridot shook her head, she didn't want to think about that, it would cause a breakdown and she knew it. The blonde focused on what she had done today.

Because... She had done it. Peridot had gotten away with eating barely any dinner. Mind you she felt sick now, and something in the back of her mind was screaming for food, to eat something, to stop caring about how overweight she was and eat before...

The blonde stumbled, her vision going blurry as her hearing became fuzzy. Peridot was on the verge of fainting, her head felt light and her legs nearly gave out from under her. She had barely eaten anything all day, her depression from Lapis' absence preventing her from even wanting to eat. A sad little groan bubbled in the blonde woman's throat as she flopped onto her bed, changed into her warm fuzzy Pjs, and fell into slumber.

Camp Pining Hearts was playing on the TV, there were warm hands with those perfect manicured nails slowly and lightly scratching her skin. The show's wonderful theme was playing, and a sweet voice was humming along to it. When the nerdy girl looked up, she found that she was snuggled into Lapis' chest. She smiled.

Peridot curled up tighter to the blue haired woman, taking in her soft scent. She smiled, happiness swirling through her and making her feel like she'd been walking on cloud 9 her whole life. Peridot felt Lapis' strong arms around her middle, hands rubbing her back, holding her firmly but not hurting her. The blonde loved being held and cuddled, her body grew warm as she felt soft lips press against her forehead. "I love you."

Lapis flipped them over though, Peridot now at the back of the couch, and stood up. "I have to go Peri..." She whispered. Peridot's heart broke, Lapis had been gone for what felt like ages, and now she wanted to leave again? Why? Why didn't she want to be with her anymore?

The Greek girl whimpered. "Please don't go, I miss you so much, PLEASE Lapis don't leave me!" Her whimpers turned to panicked cries as the blue haired woman walked over to the door and put on her shoes. "Lapis why do you keep leaving me?! A-at least tell me where you're going, I want to go with you! I don't want to be alone anymore Lapis... I thought you loved me!"

Tears were pricking in her eyes as Lapis stared down at her, blue eyes uncaring and cold. "You actually think I love you? I've never loved you, you're just gullible and desperate. I don't think I could ever hate anyone more than YOU."

Peridot felt as if she'd been slapped, her lower lip quivered and warm tears ran down her pale cheeks as she sniffled. Lapis walked away without a word.

The room was black and cold, the change was instant, leaving the blonde confused and shaking as she tried to dry her eyes. Peridot sniffed and let out a strangled sob. "Why doesn't anyone love me?!" She screamed to no one.

"I could tell you." It apparently had an answer. Peridot looked up, she was face to face with a large mirror, they surrounded her, though none showed her own reflection. The one in front of her looked almost like a woman, though pitch black and floating like a ghost with glowing white eyes. "I know just how you feel."

Her voice was so familiar but so... Dead. Peridot stared at her. "W-what do you mean?"

"I'm not loved either, although in your case... Well, look at yourself. Of course Lapis would never love you." She said with a smirk. "Your hair really helps with the title of dumb blonde, your skin is pale as death and honestly? Those ugly green eyes aren't doing you ANY favours." The shadow sneered, and Peridot felt as if a heavy bubble was forming in her chest. "You actually like her don't you? The woman who kidnapped you? You're pathetic."

Suddenly, the shadow changed shape. Taller, with creamy skin, pale blonde hair, golden eyes, a pointed nose and a look of complete and utter disgust. "She's right you know. No one is ever going to want you, who would? You eat anything you can find, I tried to stop you, but I guess you enjoy eating like a pig. No one is going to love you, overweight and worthless, that's all you are."

Peridot let more sobs shake her as Limone grinned and laughed, her words like knives in the young woman's broken heart. "P-p-please, I'm sorry I'm not good enough, please stop..." She begged quietly, looking around at all the mirrors, it didn't matter which one she shakily walked over to, the girl in the mirror followed with her.

The tiny girl fell to her knees, crying and pleading for them to stop... There was silence. The blonde looked up at the mirror and felt her already broken heart start to crumble further. Nora Odelet stood before her, her deceased mother who once upon a time had held her close when she'd been scared, told her that her sweet little Olive was always going to be her baby girl, the woman who had turned around to abuse her father and driven her away from home.

She lifted her arms up at Nora to reach out to her, shaking as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "M... Mummy?"

Nora scoffed. "You're nothing but a burden." She hissed, "I wish you'd never been born."

Her heart shattered, the blonde wailed in agony as the mirrors vanished. She looked up, and about 10 feet away was Lapis, her back turned to Peridot. The sobbing girl slowly made her way over. "Lapis..." She whispered, looking up at her and shaking. "I'm sorry... Please talk to me, I'm sorry for what I did, please... I-I need you, why do you hate me...?"

She turned around. Peridot screamed in terror as water streamed from the taller woman's eyes and mouth. Lapis raised her hand, and plunged her knife deep into Peridot's chest.

A bloodcurdling scream filled the house. Peridot's voice was hoarse, she'd been screaming in her sleep. Her thin body barely able to move with such low energy as the blonde sobbed and screamed into the darkness. Sheena and Garnet burst into her room, looking panicked as Peridot cried out in agony.

"Peridot! Are you okay?!" Sheena asked as she ran up to the blonde's bed, Garnet turning the light on and pulling off the covers.

The blonde shook her head. "No!" She sobbed, her heart aching. The others were looking her over, checking her tiny body.

The pink haired girl was looking at Peridot's arms and legs, Garnet looking at her abdomen. "Are you hurt? We thought you hurt yourself-"

She was cut off by the Greek girl screeching at the top of her lungs and sobbing uncontrollably. "NO! WHY WON'T IT STOP?!"

Garnet sat beside her on the bed, she felt sick and weak, like she could barely hold herself up. Sheena sat on the other side and pulled her somewhat close. "What's the matter Peridot, did you have a bad dream?" She asked, the tiny blonde let out a loud sob and hugged the pink haired woman, her chest heaving as thick streams of tears ran down her face. "It's okay, we've got you. Nothing is gonna hurt you hon."

Peridot sobbed into Sheena's shirt, soaking it with her tears. "It... It hurts so bad!" She told her. "Everything, all my thoughts, it's... It's too much, I, I can't-"

"Shh... Shh Peridot it's okay, it was just a bad dream. You need to breathe now Peridot, just... Breathe." Garnet told her, and rubbed her back. "They're just thoughts, just little things your brain made to worry you. Focus on the good things people have said to you. Can you do that for me?"

Peridot nodded shakily, and closed her eyes as the taller woman hummed to her, Sheena gently patting a steady beat onto her back for her heart to try and slow down to.

Sheena... Sheena had called her 'hon'. Peridot wasn't used to being called that. It was always 'sweetie', 'baby', 'princess', 'angel', and best of all: 'Peri-baby'. She loved all those treacly little nicknames Lapis gave her, she loved it a little too much when the blue haired mobster's sugary voice would whisper praises into her ear, having no clue the effect it had on Peridot. Her soft lips that would press against her forehead, strong arms that she would allow the blonde to feel, and would promise that she would use all the strength she had to protect her. Abs that drove Peridot wild, dark eyes that kept her under the Siren's spell, and the strongest love she could give.

Slowly, as her breathing deepened, a small smile rose up to Peridot's face. She was still sad, still missed Lapis, but she forced out those thoughts as much as she could. They were still there, but at least now she had something else to think about, right?

Sheena got up, and a few moments later returned with a small cup of juice. "Here hon, you need to drink something. It'll help you feel better, I hope." The pink haired woman spoke softly and handed Peridot the cup. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to get us, okay?"

The blonde nodded. 'I need Lapis.' Her mind wanted her to say, but she bit her tongue and whimpered out a little "Good night..."

Slowly, she raised the cup to her lips, and sipped a bit of blue Kool-Aid to try and get some fluid back into her body from crying so much. Peridot set the cup down, and sniffed a bit when Garnet tucked her back in. "Remember Peridot, it's just thoughts, those don't make you who you are. You're a beautiful human being, and you deserve happiness."

Peridot nodded again, not believing her but too tired to argue. "O-okay."

The door closed, and Peridot hugged her pillow weakly. She sniffled again, wiping tears away. They had tried, but they weren't Lapis. Only Lapis could make her feel all better after a nightmare.

She wanted the blue haired girl's attention, she craved it, needed it. The blonde was desperate, but... Why? Oh she knew why. Lapis was beautiful, and kind, she was messy but she tried so hard to make Peridot feel happy and... Loved. In that moment, she stopped wiping her tears away, letting them flow freely, for she must have lost her mind. Peridot needed Lapis in so many ways, she didn't want to call Lapis her friend anymore, because she meant so much to her. Her smile, her laugh, her voice... And her love.

Peridot didn't just want her attention... She wanted her love.

She was in love with Lapis Lazuli.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Happy Birthday Mafia Universe! November 25th!**_

Pink yawned as she cooked her breakfast, eggs and bacon with toast. It was hard to sleep with the recent snowstorm that had gone on last night. The dark skinned woman was the lightest sleeper she knew, but if she was up she might as well just make her breakfast now before the others. That and she was taking the last of the eggs.

The tall woman growled. There had been a sighting of Olive in a bar known as the 'Jewelry Box', and rumours of her niece being sighted. Olive was confirmed, but the Crystal Gems were a tricky bunch, nothing like the folks that came before them. They were still not sure if it really was Lapis, since the small woman looked so different from the picture they had of her.

In recent days, Pink had figured out something rather… Unpleasant. It was known that the Diamond Authority had a very special hierarchy. White was on top, then Yellow, then Blue, and then Pink. She didn't mind being on the bottom, she still had time to produce or select an heir for her throne, and either way should White pass away she would be third. Unless of course… Crystal came back. If her niece came back, then she would claim Blue Diamond's throne and act as third in the hierarchy, a spot ABOVE Pink despite all that Pink had done, all her hard work only to be kept at the bottom by Blue Diamond's _brat_.

Once she had been happy at the thought of her niece returning, now it made her blood boil. If she found her niece, she'd break her. Pink didn't care what it would take, maybe destroy something she cared about?

Or maybe… And this thought brought a large grin to Pink's face as she pulled out her full matchbox.

She could burn all those Crystal Gems to ash.

One. By. One.

Pink Diamond smiled, it was a jewel of an idea, horrible, beautiful and perfect. She couldn't wait to hear their screams as they burned into nothing.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

It was 5 in the morning when Lapis finally got home, Pearl had been sitting on the couch, along with the others. The second the peach haired woman had set eyes on her she'd begun to cry. "Oh my god… Lapis I thought you were dead…"

The others rushed forward, all of them at once, and hugged the blue haired woman tightly. "We were so worried about you!" Amethyst sniffled, and she could feel Sheena nod. Lapis felt Pearl's hand on the back of her head, rubbing as the taller girl hugged her.

Getting home hadn't been fun, a snowstorm had started all across Beach City, turning it into a fluff buried world of swirling white. Jasper had made her check her phone, and the messages she'd had were incredible… They were scared about her, worrying over her, wanting her to be okay and to come home safe and sound… According to all these messages, they didn't hate her one bit.

"I thought you hated me…" Lapis murmured, and heard horrified gasps ring out among the group.

There were footsteps coming down the stairs, and the blue haired woman nearly fell over when someone else tackled her. "Lapis! You're home! I missed you so much, you scared us so bad! You're my Beach Summer Fun Buddy, you promised… You promised you wouldn't leave… That you want to stay with us, we… We love you." Steven was hugging her, the taller boy burying his face in her hair and crying softly.

All of them had a tight hold on her, but for some reason, Lapis didn't feel afraid. "Lapis, we could never, and I mean NEVER hate you." Garnet told her, "We don't care what your mother did, she isn't you, not at all. You know it in your heart that you are not a Diamond, you never have been nor will you ever be."

She looked up at her friends, all these people, her family that loved her, ACTUALLY loved her. Lapis couldn't quite hug them back, since they were all around her and had somewhat trapped her arms in the warm little group hug, she smiled at them all instead. A gentle, soft smile. "I… I love you guys too."

A tiny cough sounded from upstairs, and Lapis realized with a jolt in her heart that not everyone had been down here. Peridot wasn't down here…

"Lapis, she's not well. I was up there, she's sick… She was coughing and I think she's got a fever, she said her stomach hurts too…" Steven explained, a chilly fear swept through her heart like a poisonous thorn. The blue haired woman squirmed and wriggled out of the hug. "We're making her some soup, but she really misses you, come on."

She followed Steven up the stairs to a closed door, Peridot's door. Her poor little angel was sick, she should have been there to try and stop it… Lapis knocked on the door gently.

There was another cough, and a rough voice sounded through the door. "Just go away… I don't want to talk anymore…" Peridot sounded so heartbroken, and Lapis could have sworn she'd heard sniffles from her beloved. The type that came along with crying.

With a little push, Lapis opened the door. "Peridot?" She whispered, her open heart pounded in her chest as her sweetheart laid there on her large bed, thin and sickly. The blonde looked up at her though, watery green eyes wide with shock.

"Lapis… You're… You came home…" She spoke softly, as if being too loud would scare Lapis away. Nothing Peridot could ever do could make the blue haired woman want to leave her. Lapis wanted to stay by her side, forever. She knelt down by the bed and, just the way she had when Peridot first came to the house, gently stroked her thumb over Peridot's cheek.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Lapis was here, she was really here! Peridot had missed her with all her heart, wishing desperately for days for the taller girl to come back. And she had, her skin was warm and she held Peridot in a loving gaze. The Greek woman weakly reached out to her. "I missed you…"

Gentle, as if the blonde were made of glass, Lapis sat on the bed and pulled Peridot into her arms. A dam within her broke, and Peridot cried into the blue haired girl's shoulder. "I don't know what I did but I'm so sorry!" She sobbed and a hand rubbed her back.

"Shh, baby don't be sorry. It wasn't you, it was never you. I love you and I'll always love you. This week… It was because people thought I would hurt you, they thought that I was making you into my pet, but I'd never do that. I didn't want to stay away from you Peri, but I had no choice… If I kept spoiling you they'd take you away from me." Lapis explained to her. "I don't hate you, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me sweetie, I love you so much, too much sometimes for me to handle. But I would never ever want to leave you. I'm sorry Peri-baby, I love you."

Peridot felt a little flutter in her chest, she couldn't move much, but… She let her head rest on Lapis' shoulder as she sniffled. "You…" She let out a tiny sob, and closed her eyes as anger set in just a little before it turned to sadness. "You hurt me."

She could feel Lapis wilt against her. "I know, and I'm so sorry… I don't deserve the privilege to hold you, you're my goddess and I'll do anything to make it up to you, I promise. I would never want to hurt you, ever."

God she couldn't stay mad at her, could she? "I know, I just… You scared me, I thought you weren't going to come back. I wouldn't get to tell you a secret…" She could feel Lapis stiffen up a little, her hands stopped rubbing her back and stayed perfectly still as if those words had frozen her.

"Lapis… I love you."

Peridot could feel the older woman's heart pounding against her rapidly, the blue haired girl struggled to breathe as her grip around the blonde tightened. "This…" Lapis choked out. "I'm not dreaming…" Her voice quivered. "Y-you mean it?"

The tiny girl nodded, her cheeks pink and a tiny smile appearing on her face for the first time in a long time. "Yes, I mean it Lapis. I love you too." She heard Lapis make an odd, happy sounding sob-like noise. Her breathing was heavy as she nuzzled into her hair. She made tiny whimpering noises and pulled Peridot closer, taking a deep shuddering breath.

"Oh Peri… My sweet, perfect little Peri, you're my whole world, my everything, m-my heart… I-it's yours, it's all yours baby… Oh god I love you so much, oh god I think I'm gonna, g-gonna cry o-or… Or faint!" Peridot looked up at her, Lapis' dark blue eyes looked misty. "I've never been so happy, I've never felt like this, i-it feels like my heart is going to burst b-but I like it, no, I love it. I promise I do, I've never been this happy in all my life…" Lapis told her. "Peridot… No matter what, I'll always love you, you'll always have my heart in your hands, I'll never leave you alone… My Peri, my precious gem, I'll never let you go."

Warm heat spread through her body, and Peridot leaned into her. She felt Lapis' hands rubbing her arms, the tan woman rocking back and forth, her heart still racing before her breathing picked up again… The blonde jumped a little when Lapis squealed. "I can't believe this! You love me! You really love me! Oh princess I thought you'd hate me, but no, you LOVE ME!" The Hawaiian girl screeched and hugged her tightly. Peridot's face burned when she felt lips press against her forehead, right over her scar.

Of course, fate was a cruel bitch. The tickle in Peridot's chest rose up again, and she started to cough. Her throat ached and burned as the tiny woman wheezed, and she heard Lapis gasp.

"Oh sweetie, you're sick! Lay down, it's okay now, I'll take care of you and make you feel all better, okay baby?" The blue haired woman was so gentle with her. Peridot blushed harder as Lapis set her on the bed, and handed her the cup that rested on her bedside table. Steven had made her some tea with honey in it, cinnamon too. Peridot drank a few sips before Lapis gently pushed her down and tucked her in, another sweet little kiss on her forehead. "I love you baby."

The blonde smiled up at her. "I love you too."

Those words made Lapis blush and squeal again, a dreamy look in her eyes as she backed away out of the room.

This was wrong, Peridot shouldn't be in love with her, she was a criminal, supposed to be a bad person, she had kidnapped the blonde for crying out loud! This whole thing should have felt so wrong… But being in her arms, feeling so safe and loved all at once after all that she'd been through…

It felt right.

A few people entered her room now, Steven and all the Mafia members, Lapis included. "Peridot." Pearl started. "We're sorry. These week has been hell for you, excuse my language, and you don't deserve that. You're an adult, and you know what you want and what's best for you. I'm sorry I assumed things, it hurt you… I thought that Lapis was hurting you, and made her behave strictly towards you. I was wrong though, and I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad." Peridot murmured, "Do you really think I can be mad? You know I forgive easy." She cut herself off again, coughing and wheezing.

All of them hurried over, Lapis was closest and held a small bowl of soup. "Sit up Peri, you need to eat something, it'll help you feel better."

With help from Garnet, Peridot was propped up by her soft pillows. The blonde had trouble moving much, she was weak and exhausted. Slowly and carefully, Lapis fed her the soup. It had been cooled down to not burn her mouth, with little bits of chicken and tiny noodles that were easy to eat. She still despised eating, but… It was good. She did feel better, happier even, especially when Lapis had hugged her, she started feeling colder though, and began to shiver.

Upon seeing the blonde shivering, the blue haired girl stood up and walked out of the room. Peridot's heart sped up, and her breathing quickened as she began to panic. Where was Lapis going? Was she leaving again?! She said she wouldn't!

The Greek girl jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Easy Peridot, she'll be right back." Sheena told her before Amethyst spoke up too.

"Yeah dude! Don't be scared, she's probably just getting something for you! In case you haven't noticed, she's crazy about you. Literally." She had a huge grin in her face as she spoke, and snickered when Peridot blushed.

"Of course I'm crazy about Peri, she's perfect." Said Lapis, who seemed to very suddenly appear behind Amethyst. "Now move please. I'm trying to help her."

When the short woman stepped aside, Peridot could see what Lapis was wearing. A dark blue sweater that was much too large for her. She got onto the bed and shooed everyone else away. The door shut, and Lapis pulled Peridot closer. "Come here, I have a tank top on underneath, you need to get warmer Peri. Your fever broke and that's why you're so cold." She pulled the sweater up, revealing that she was indeed wearing a tank top under it, and smiled at Peridot. "So, I'll cuddle you in this and keep you warm! Get in, it's soft."

The blonde nodded, blushing bright pink, and crawled into her lap facing her. She wrapped her arms around Lapis' waist and buried her face in her chest, soaking up her warmth like a greedy little sponge. She snuggled into her and sighed happily feeling the sweater go over her back, Lapis rubbing her back and making sure to adjust the sweater so the blonde could breathe. Peridot was snuggled into her neck, smiling as Lapis held her close.

Though her face flushed red when she felt the older woman's abs press into her, she shivered and let herself be cradled gently. "I missed you, I thought you didn't love me anymore…" Peridot murmured.

"Oh Peri, I could never feel anything but love to you, nothing could ever make me change my mind about you." She slowly rocked back and forth, patting Peridot's back and making the younger girl's eyes flutter shut. The blonde slid her tiny hands up Lapis' back-

…

The blue haired woman stiffened up and took a sharp breath. Peridot's bright green eyes widened upon feeling something… Off. Between her shoulder blades, there was an odd groove making the shape of a teardrop…

This was her skin, Peridot could feel it through her shirt, and it went in… As if someone had… Carved into her back. The blonde moved her hands away, and looked up at her. "Lapis, what happened to your back?"

Her eyes were wide and had that awful haunted look to them, she had been clearly trying to push the fact that something was wrong away, and it wasn't working. What had happened to her that made her so afraid? Peridot had still never quite heard her story, she knew about what happened to the Quartz Sisters, she knew about Garnet being raised on the streets with Ruby and Sapphire, she knew how Pearl had been violated and had her baby taken from her before it was even born, and she knew that Sheena had been kicked out by her family, and abused in a relationship before she met Pearl…

But Peridot still had no clue what had really happened to Lapis.

"M… My mother…" Lapis whispered, seeming to nearly choke on the words. "She found me as a baby… My parents left me on her porch, they thought I was possessed by a demon… So s-she raised me. She… She beat me, it drove me insane, I-I couldn't take it, I snapped and… She pinned me down, and took a piece of the mirror I broke… And… A-and…"

Peridot hugged her tightly. "They were so wrong about you. I love you Lapis, you're my angel." She told the older woman, who returned the hug before the Greek girl spoke again. "Can I see it? What she did to you?"

Lapis nodded slowly, shaking as she separated them, took off the sweater and pulled her tank top up. She turned around and Peridot's heart broke for her. A large teardrop shaped scar had been dug into her back, she was visibly shaking with dear as she sat there. Gently, Peridot moved close to her back and delicately traced the scar with her fingertip.

"You're so beautiful Lapis…" She whispered. The Hawaiian woman turned back around and pulled her back in to be close. She pressed Peridot's face to her neck, had a hand on her lower back and her other arm wrapped around the younger girl.

"I love you Peridot… I'll always love you…"

TIME SKIP

A few days went by. Peridot mostly stayed in bed sleeping, being occasionally woken up to drink, take medicine, and most importantly, eat. According to her DS, which she was allowed to play with only when she ate all of at least most of a meal, it was December 5th.

Lapis had been so good to her, feeding her and making sure she was clean and got some air by being wrapped tightly in blankets ("Peri-burrito" was what Amethyst had called it, it had made Lapis snort) and carrying her outside for a few minutes. The blonde felt so much better now, and apparently the Mafia's doctor was coming in to see her.

Aqua had peeked her head in, "Can I come in?" She asked, and when Lapis nodded she carefully stepped into Peridot's room, looking concerned. She whispered something to Lapis, who nodded and write something down. "So… 81 pounds." Aqua commented. "Peridot you know that's severe, don't you?"

The blonde didn't answer, her hands suddenly became very interesting. Aqua sighed and sat on her bed. "I know what you're going through, I've seen it too many times. You see all those girls in magazines, or on TV, and they're all so glorified as perfect and beautiful… And it hurts, it's not fair. But… You've got to understand-"

Peridot growled at her. "What? Understand what? That I'm a dumbass who can't take care of-"

Turns out Aqua could snap right back from Peridot's moodiness. "No actually I'm saying you're dying. Your body was built a certain way, force it to change like that, and congratulations, you're killing yourself."

"I'm fine."

Aqua took a glance over at Lapis, who was talking with Cat out in the hall before turning back to the tiny woman. "Will she be fine when she wakes up and you're dead? Will she be okay when you starve to death with food 6 feet away? Will she ever live with herself knowing your heart could stop and she can't save you because your body already gave up? Your heart could literally stop in your sleep. Lapis would wake up next to your dead body. Do you want that?"

Tears filled Peridot's eyes as horrific images flashed in her mind. "N… No…" She watched as Aqua came closer, pulled out a tissue and wiped her tears away gently. "I never thought I was hurting her…"

"She worries about you, I'm sure you know that. But I'm asking you not to eat just for her, you need to do it for yourself. You don't have to eat big meals, because you probably can't, but you can eat little meals, like a sandwich, or some cheese and crackers, or little bits of rice or pasta. My point is, is that you need to have food in your body to live. And I know the thought of gaining weight scares you, but in reality, there's nothing bad about it." Aqua explained. "And how happy do you think everyone would be to see you at a healthy weight?"

The blonde was quiet, but she thought about it. Being able to run around and play again, not have to worry about being so cold and sickly, she could enjoy hot showers and be able to eat foods she liked without much worry if she got better… "I want to get better."

Aqua beamed at her. "That's a good thing! Because, and this is good news, your fever is gone, your cough too! In fact, in terms of sickness, I'd say you're all better. But if you don't want to get sick again, you NEED to eat."

The blonde sighed, and nodded. She hated this, but Aqua… She made some good points… Peridot drank some of her water and called for Lapis. "Can we cuddle, Lapis? Ple-"

She didn't even get the chance to finish asking before Lapis had rushed into her room and pulled her into a good snuggle. "You don't even have to ask Peri." She looked up at Aqua. "So… How is she?"

"Get her eating like she should, and she'll be back to her normal weight soon with any luck." The teal haired woman told them. "No big meals. She should have about… 5 little meals throughout the day. And if she wants any snacks at all make sure they aren't basically pure sugar until she's at 90 pounds. Got all that?"

Lapis nodded at her. She handed the Korean girl a few hundred dollar bills. "Thank you CottonTail."

Aqua smiled at the money but rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Cat and I are staying for a little while to hang out with the others. I-EEEIIIIEE!" She squealed when her wife came up behind her and tickled under her arms. "Cat no!"

The tall, buff woman behind her was smiling. "Hi Peridot!" She chirped. "I heard you were all better, I'm happy for you."

Peridot started to smile. She was happy too.

TIME SKIP- A few hours, 7:00pm

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

It was the first time in a long while that Lapis had Peridot in her car, smiling and happy as the two of them drove up to the bar. The blue haired woman knew that her precious sweetheart liked the food there, so she'd just sit behind the counter with her and eat dinner. The older woman wore a plain blue flannel and her jeans, Peridot wearing her blouse and a long skirt that went down to her ankles.

No, it wasn't actually made for that. YES Peridot was THAT short. She could wear Lapis' t-shirts as pyjamas. The thought of that brought warmth to her face.

She pulled up and got out of the car, going around and opening Peridot's door before gently holding her arm to lead her in. Her heart rate spiked hearing someone whistle at Peridot. Lapis let go of the blonde, walked over to him, pressure pointed him to make him collapse before pouring his drink all over him.

"Guys, someone passed out, I think he had too much to drink!" Lapis lied, watching a few staff members go up to him before walking back over to Peridot with a smug grin.

No one was to flirt with Peridot, _no one_. The blonde belonged to her, even more-so now that she loved Lapis too.

The short woman hugged her around her waist, but gasped and pulled away only seconds later, and Lapis would be a liar if she aid she didn't have a pouty look on her face when Peridot pulled away.

"L... Limone?"

Lapis' eye twitched and her fingernails dug circles into her palms. No, not that whore, not tonight, not when Peridot's heart was still bruised over what Lapis had done, not when she still got a bit angry or was too scared of Lapis leaving again to be able to kiss her or do anything more than hug the blue haired woman.

Anything but her, anything but THIS.

This woman looked so much like Pearl, same nose, same eye shape, shorter though, with light blonde hair, an oddly thinner body, and the scar on her chest that Lapis recognized from her old babysitter, Bella...

This was Pearl's sister, Jaune. The pearl taken out of the cage and thought to be dead, had truly become the Diamond Authority's very first free roaming pet.

"Peri-baby, go order what food you want, there's a line starting. I'll just grab us some iced tea to drink." She held her emotions in and gently pushed Peridot over to where the food was. The blonde walked over, and stood in the line.

Lapis went up to the counter where Limone was sitting, the French woman sat with a glass of lemon water and looked up at the screen before Lapis forced with all her might to hold a smile. The blue haired girl slipped the bartender 50 dollars, a little thank you present for her services to Bach City Mafia.

Limone noticed the money and her eyes lit up. Lapis pretended to notice her and played innocent. "Oh, hi there." She said, and Limone smiled.

"Hey." She chirped, and Lapis kept going along with it.

"So... Tell me, Beach City's got a lot of gay people... I'm one... Are you?" when Limone chuckled and nodded Lapis asked something else. "Are you... Single by any chance?"

The blonde woman smirked. "Yep."

 _'Of all the people I've hurt, your death is going to be the WORST. A bullet from Chainbreaker is too good for you, you're getting my knife.'_ Lapis thought to herself. She took a slightly shaky breath and asked "So... That girl that went missing... The mechanic-"

Limone cut her off. "Oh, do you know where she is at all? I need to find her! She's... Kind of part of a project I'm doing, involving behavioural changes, complicated stuff, I REALLY need to find her."

"Well... She's also a nice lady, I've met her, I'm just worried..."

Limone raised an eyebrow. "Why? I know her well. She probably just ran off somewhere like a dipshit because she doesn't want to work. She's such a baby, you should see her during a thunderstorm, she hides and cries like a toddler!"

The blonde ranted a little more, and Lapis started to hit her breaking point. "You fucking monster..." She whispered.

Limone smiled at her again, making the flame that burned through her blood burn hotter. "You seem pretty caring though. Awfully nice of you to care about someone like that. It matches your beauty."

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" Lapis screeched. Limone jumped a bit, so did some others, but Lapis didn't care. "How DARE you act like she meant NOTHING to you?! She's an angel that you don't deserve and she tried SO hard to get you to love her, and I can't believe you had the fucking GALL to hurt her the way you did!"

"Lapis stop!" A little voice called. Peridot must have heard them and run out of line and over to see them. "Leave her alone!

Shock ran through Lapis' heart, why was Peridot defending her?! Why didn't she want Lapis to be angry with this bitch?!

"Honey!" Limone called, and ran to the tiny girl with a huge grin. She hugged Peridot, making Lapis' blood boil. "I missed you so much!"

The blue haired woman forced them apart. "Stay off of her you whore!" She hissed, wanting nothing more than to rip the awful woman to shreds.

"Let me see my girlfriend!" Limone squawked "I've been scared half to death lately!"

Lapis snarled at her. "Not what I heard bitch, you were going to cheat on her!"

"So I lied to a random stranger! Sue me!" The older woman hissed at her before cupping Peridot's pale cheeks, "Oh, Olive honey I was so scared I thought you were killed! I never meant to push you away, I wasn't thinking at all, I love you so much Olive."

POV SHIFT- Peridot...?

Peridot's emerald eyes widened. "You... You love me?" She blushed upon seeing Limone nod.

"Of course I do honey, I always have. Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

The Greek woman shook her head, "I'm fine Limone."

"Peri!" Lapis shrieked, a scary look on her face as she glared at them, looking ready to kill. "Stop it! This woman is a psychopath!"

Limone? Crazy? No, no she wasn't crazy...

But Lapis was.

Lapis had STALKED the blonde, OBSESSED over her... Kidnapped her...

Peridot felt her heart grow cold. "Oh, SHE'S crazy? Who stalked and kidnapped me, huh? She's not the crazy one, but you? You're certifiably out of your mind!"

The taller woman recoiled as if Peridot had slapped her. "P-Peridot?" She looked so hurt and confused before looking at Limone, her gaze hardening. Her breathing quickened and she advanced on the two of them, her dark blue glare burning into Peridot's soul.

Lapis started to roar, seething and snarling as Peridot backed away from her. "Why can't you see it Peridot?! She doesn't care about you at all! She just wants to hurt you! But I would never hurt you, I LOVE YOU! I care about like nobody else does! NOBODY LOVES YOU THE WAY I DO!"

Limone took Peridot by her shoulders and pulled her closer, the blonde girl turned to the older woman, and-

...

Oh.

Her eyes went wide, and she swore her heart stopped as she felt Limone's lips crushing her own in Peridot's first kiss, slightly sour lip balm overpowering her senses as Peridot felt her mind go numb...

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

This wasn't happening, this had to be a nightmare, why was this disgusting thing kissing HER Peridot, HER angel... Lapis's heart started to break, it felt as if it was ripping in two.

"Come on honey, let's go, you can come with me, I'll keep you safe from her, she's clearly insane... I missed you so much Olive, I love you so much..."

The oldest of them brought HER Peridot outside, Lapis ran out after them, "P... Peri...? Peri please-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Peridot screamed at her. Lapis stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes stinging as she stood there, shaking. The blonde took off the peridot necklace she had been wearing, and with a sharp glare, she threw it at Lapis.

"P... Peri...?" She whimpered, "Peridot?"

"My name is Olive. I am not your PET." Olive hissed... And with that, she was gone...

Lapis fell to her knees in the snow, heart shattered as she held Peridot's necklace close to her chest. Lapis let out a sob as she felt tears slide down her cheeks, crying for the first time in her life as she watched Olive walk away, leaving Lapis' shattered heart behind.

"I never thought you were..."


	23. Chapter 23

_**AN: Warning for a scene coming up, Limone is a bit... Forceful. Nothing too bad I hope, but definitely creepy. Remember to leave a comment of your thoughts, it's motivation!**_

Olive sat quietly in Limone's car, taking deep breaths as her mind clouded further. She'd never seen Lapis so... Broken.

 _'She deserves it, she kidnapped me, held me against my will. I don't love her.'_ The young woman told herself, trying to believe it. Limone drove well, even in the snow, the car was silent other than the heater as Olive sat in the back seat, large sweater keeping her underweight body a little warm.

The sweater Lapis had given her... Olive's mind clouded thinking about her, the woman was a monster, evil, nothing but trouble. She'd been kind, but... It had to have been a trick to keep Olive happy and compliant with whatever the older woman had wanted. The blonde forced her memories away, memories made only so recently of being treated with such tender care.

"Olive honey, are you okay? You've been so quiet, do you need anything? I know it's hard having been with those people for so long, but I'm here for you if you need something... I love you."

At Limone's words Olive blushed softly, she knew it! She knew Limone loved her, and that all those times she'd yelled had just been her trying too hard to look out for the young woman. "I... I love you too."

She could have sworn she'd seen her girlfriend smirk. Olive shook her head, she was probably proud to have Olive back where she was safe and far away from the blue haired psychopath. The older of the two drove right past the sign that said 'Now Leaving: Beach City'. The blonde's stomach growled, it was about the regular time when she'd be given a snack, she looked up at her girlfriend fearfully, expecting harsh words.

Instead, Limone reached into a bag that sat between them, and pulled out a small sandwich. "I bought it at the bar, but I figured you could use it. We'll be at my home soon, I can make you dinner if you'd like. I missed you so much Olive, I'm so sorry..."

Olive nodded and dug in, ignoring the mental image of Lapis crying in the snow. She didn't need that woman anymore, she was free. Freedom felt weird, her head was fuzzy, it felt like it was having a hard time catching up to her movements, and even that felt slow and... blurry.

Limone's house was the exact opposite of what she'd expected, because it wasn't a house at all. It was an old warehouse, a few cars parked in front. The older girl did say she lived with other people in a large place, she certainly wasn't kidding. Olive stepped out of the car, and went with her girlfriend inside hand in hand.

She flicked a few of the lights on. "Most of the others are probably sleeping." Limone explained and brought Olive to another part of the building. "I'll be in the kitchen, you sit on the couch, I'll be right back." She gave the short woman a peck on the cheek, lead her to the couch and walked off.

Olive sat down on the couch, nervous as a kitten, as faint sounds came from the kitchen, the sound of something being poured into water echoed, and the little blonde smiled warmly. Limone was making pasta just for her! The taste of Limone's chap-stick was still on her lips, even if she had licked most of it right after they had kissed, right before...

She shook her head, which still had that foggy, tired, vaguely angry feeling. Something was wrong, Olive wasn't an angry person. She was MUCH more of a lover than a fighter. Maybe... She was stressed, yeah that had to be it. Stress was causing her mind to get fuzzy, and making her snap at people easier.

'Maybe if I chew some gum it'll help... I bet Limone's got some in her purse.' Olive thought to herself, getting up from her spot. The blonde woman wobbled a bit, her vision going hazy for a second when she stood up. She must have been hungry, but... She couldn't shake the feeling that something was... Off.

She looked through her girlfriend's purse, plucking out her chap-stick, the same one she must have used at the bar. But... The label was peeled off. She opened it up and sniffed it, recoiling when a sour scent hit her nose. She knew it tasted a bit sour when she had licked it off her lips, but... This wasn't natural. Something was wrong here. She looked closely, it seemed to have a small deep hole in the center, a little smeared over when Limone had applied it. The smell was worst there.

"Hey... Hey Limone?" She asked, before she could feel her heart all but stop.

There, on the table, was a chap-stick coated syringe. Yellow smeared onto it, the same sour smell coming from it when Olive sniffed it. What had been in that? Surely it couldn't have been something-

"Yes Olive?" Limone chirped, sounding quite close and scaring the younger woman, making her take a few wrappers out of her pockets, hold them out and make sure to step away from the purse and syringe.

"I uh, was wondering where the trashcan is." She lied as her girlfriend came from around the corner. Limone lifted an eyebrow before she just giggled and took the tiny girl's hand. She led her over to the couch, pointing to the trash can beside it. "Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome honey." Limone said softly before pulling the blonde to sit on the couch with her. "Now... It'll take a while for the food to be ready... Why don't we have a bit of fun, hm?"

Olive looked up at her, the fuzziness in her head almost gone. Slowly she nodded. Scared but.. This couldn't be too bad, right? That syringe, it might have been something to... Maybe keep the chap-stick fresher? Limone didn't seem bothered by it, maybe Olive was just imagining things.

The Greek girl got up onto the older woman's lap, letting Limone tilt her head up before their lips met once again. She put her little hands up on Limone's shoulders, feeling a tongue poke her lips just as it had before. This time however, Limone was much more aggressive, her tongue forcing its way into Olive's mouth.

She could feel Limone's hands slowly slide down her sides to feel her hips, squeezing them and starting to move her hands down to the younger girl's thighs. The blonde squeaked into their kiss, feeling the tongue that had been shoved into her mouth roughly exploring. Limone's fingers pushed up her long skirt a bit and curled around her legs, the sour taste may have gone from the older woman's lips, but Olive felt the urge to scream. This wasn't right, what was she thinking?!

The second she started to pull away though, a sharp searing pain ripped through her lip. Limone had sunken her sharp teeth into the soft flesh of her bottom lip, and she could hear it splitting open, tasting her own blood. She screamed and pulled away completely, trying to push Limone away. "I, I don't like this, stop it!"

Limone had grabbed her though, nearly pinning her onto the couch. "No."

The pale girl's blood turned to ice, she squirmed feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "Get away!"

The Greek woman let out a cry of pain as Limone pushed her onto the floor. Lapis would never do this to her, she'd made a horrid mistake, what had she been...

The syringe. The kiss at the bar. It wasn't something stupid, Limone had injected something into that chap-stick, had drugged her. Now the older woman towered over her, and snapped her fingers. "Biggs. Agate. Grab her."

Two sets of large hands grabbed the young blonde's limbs, tearing off most of her clothing leaving only her undergarments. Peridot screamed, thrashing in their arms and trying to scramble away, feeling something around her neck. "LAPIS HELP ME!" Peridot cried, hot tears slipping down her face as another scream left her, white hot pain ripping through her body as the collar around her neck shocked her.

"Shut. Up." Limone hissed, a remote in her hands. "I'm sick of your bitching. Shut your mouth and behave. Your DIAMOND is talking to you. You, Olive, are my pet, and you'll learn the same way I did." She looked up at the women holding Peridot. "Cage her."

They nodded, and walked over to a somewhat small cage, one opening it up before the other tossed the underweight woman inside. Peridot cried and screamed to be released, begging with her captor to let her go until another shock was delivered, leaving her wheezing on the cages floor, not even enough room to stand up.

"Please... Stop..." Peridot whimpered.

Limone smiled. "No."

POV SHIFT- Yellow Diamond

She walked down the lonely corridor, a cellphone clutched tightly in her hand as she made her way down to another room. The tall woman had managed to find the phone number of the Diamond Authority's greatest enemy. Rose Quartz.

She had stolen Sapphire's phone, and was making her way to the blue haired girl's cell. She knew Rose would keep all her lackeys contacts in a phone, but only now had she managed to get it through one of Ruby's sisters slipping up during an interrogation. Sapphire had tried to delete the contacts on it, but Yellow knew just what to do to make her call her boss.

Sapphire glared at her, holding Ruby's hand tightly. "What do you want Yellow?" She spat.

Yellow knelt down, trying not to snicker at how tough Sapphire was trying to be. She was so tiny, at least, compared to the blonde woman. Yellow held out the hand that had the cellphone in it. "Unlock your phone, and call your boss. Now."

Defiant as ever, Sapphire just glared at her. Her dark blue eyes filled with poisonous hatred. "No." She hissed, and Yellow showed her what she had in her other hand. A loaded pistol. The tall woman pressed it to Sapphire's head, Ruby scream in rage and fear.

"LET HER GO!" Ruby snarled, not moving as she had no idea what Yellow would do if she did. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Sapphire just stared into her eyes. "Go on, do it. Pull the trigger and lose your only chance of ever getting closer to the Crystal Gems. Do it."

"Alright." Said Yellow. She moved her hand, the barrel of the gun now pointed at Ruby's heart. "I will."

Fear flashed in those blue eyes, and Sapphire panicked within seconds. "Please, please no, please don't do it, Yellow please... Please don't shoot her, I'll, I-I'll do what you want, just PLEASE," She started to sob, tears running down her cheeks. "Please don't hurt Ruby, I'll do it Yellow."

The blonde woman grinned. "Glad you could see things my way. Now unlock the phone."

Sapphire nodded, dialling the password in, and calling her 'beloved' boss. "H-hi Rose." She mumbled, shaking and watching the gun trained on her wife. "Yeah, I'm fine, everything's fine." Her voice was tight, clipped and shaking.

"Tell her that you want her to hurry to the old warehouse near the Beach City border. Do it."

A small whimper escaped the blue haired woman as she nodded, sniffing. "I just... I need you to go somewhere for me, okay? The, the old warehouse, n-near the border of Beach City, please hurry... O-o-okay, goodbye Rose." She hung up the phone. "I, I did what you asked. Please, leave her alone..."

Yellow nodded as she took the phone from Sapphire, shoved Ruby onto the floor and walked into the corner of the room, closing them in their cage but still letting them hear. She took out her own phone and dialled the number for her youngest sister, Pink Diamond.

Pink sat alone in her chamber, watching the flames of the candles around her. Fire was the only thing she could control. She barely had any Pets, not since the incident with Jessibelle and Violet... And especially not since Rose had humiliated her. Rose Quartz, the awful woman who had trained beside her for years, only to beat her when the time came to see who should be a Diamond. Of course, Rose gave her the position after that fight, but only out of pity.

Rose wasn't even a true member of the family, but Pink was, she was JUST as important as her sisters. She wanted her own Pets, she wanted her own facility, not just this room, she DESERVED it! She couldn't even have her own pearl, she had to SHARE one. It wasn't fair, they still treated her like a kid, she was just as good as they were, she'd PROVE it.

Her phone began to buzz, Pink looked over at it and grinned. Yellow was calling her, maybe she needed help with something! She quickly picked up, smiling brightly and bouncing a little on her bed, the flames in her dark room burning beautifully with all the mixed chaotic scents. "Hi Yellow!" She chirped.

"Yes, hello Pink. I have something I need you to do for me, something very important." Said the older woman, who sounded a little... Happy. That was good, Yellow was never happy, Pink was though, until she got angry.

"Ooh!" The pink haired girl squealed. "What is it? Who do I get to burn?!" She asked with a sadistic grin, looking in the mirror at the mark that had been burned onto her stomach as a child by White. Fire was her element, so beautiful and perfect.

"My, you're so eager. Well, I'll tell you." Said Yellow. "I know you wish to get your revenge on those wretched Crystal Gems, and to show us all how wonderful of a Diamond you are... Well tonight you can do both."

Pink's eyes widened, and she gasped. "Really? How?!" Finally, a chance to prove herself!

"My Pearl, Limone, will be at the warehouse close to Beach City, where she'll be attempting to tame her first Pet. Go and watch over her, to make sure she's doing it right. The Crystal Gems will be showing up shortly, I suggest you hurry."

Despite knowing that the older woman couldn't see her, Pink nodded. "Yes ma'am!" she chirped, putting on her special, fire-proof coat, and her belt that carried an array of weapons on it.

"Oh, and Pink?"

"Yes Yellow?" Pink asked, her eyes gleaming with happiness.

"Make sure the brat's scream are recorded, and send one of the guards here with her old clothes. And if you see Rose Quartz, make her pay for what she's done.

Pink grinned. "Yes ma'am."

Yellow hung up, shaking slightly, she turned her phone off, listening to the two in their cage, Ruby's shaky breathing and Sapphire sniffling before she spoke.

"Yellow... Yellow she can't fight back against them, not like this! Not against Rose!" She heard Sapphire cry out. "Yellow, if Pink goes out there, she'll be KILLED!"

Yellow smiled. "I know."

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

Lapis had just barely managed to drive home, tears still running down her face as she hiccupped and sobbed. Her mascara had stained down her cheeks, she had been crying in the back seat of her car for over half an hour, she had never felt like this before, like her whole world had come crashing down, her heart had been ripped out of her before being shattered into dust, never before had Lapis ever cried. She held Peri…. Olive's necklace gently, as if it could break at the slightest touch, up to her chest.

When she walked into her house, all of the others were sitting there at the couch, all playing cards. Steven had gone back with Greg, Lapis was glad that there was at least 1 less person who would have to see her like this. They all looked up immediately, hearing the blue haired woman sniffle and place the necklace onto a table before Jasper finally spoke up. "Lapis, are you okay? Where's Peridot?"

"Off with the girl she loves." Lapis said before another wave of tears hit her, it was all too much… She ran into her room, the others quickly following. "Just go," Lapis sobbed, "Leave me alone!" She looked around at her room, god she was a mess wasn't she? Ripped up papers scattered on the floor, scratches on the walls where she had dragged knives down them, words scribbled onto the walls during her breakdowns when she saw things that weren't real.

She fell into her bed and curled up into a ball, shaking and crying loudly as the others walked in, whispering about how messy Lapis' room was, how deeply they had allowed the blue haired woman to fall into such a state behind closed doors.

She glared at them, or at least she wanted to. Another sob racked her body, and she buried her face in her pillow. The blue haired woman wanted nothing more at the moment than to just curl up in her bed and die. Everything ached, her heart most of all.

She gave a loud groaning whine when she felt someone sit on her bed. "Lapis…" A gentle voice, Pearl's voice, before a hand gently rubbed her back. "Tell us what happened. Who is Peridot with, and why?"

Another sob wracked her, and Lapis moved a bit to try and speak. "She... She's with Limone. S-she's with your sister." Lapis' throat ached as she cried, Jasper sitting on the bed and hugging her tightly as Pearl's baby blue eyes widened. "Jaune's ALIVE Pearl... She's a monster, she wants to be one of them, you should have seen her, she... She did something bad to Peri!"

"What did she do?" The blue haired woman heard Garnet ask.

"She's alive?" Asked Pearl. "No, no that can't... That girl I saw..."

Lapis looked up at Garnet. "She kissed her, b-but I think she had that stuff on her lips... I-it makes your mind go all fuzzy, don't you remember? Blue and Yellow Diamond made it, t-they called it Shard!" She cried, her voice gaining strength as her broken mind came to terms with what had happened.

She had sat alone in the back of her car sobbing for what felt like months, wondering why Olive would want to go with her, why she'd acted like that. She thought about the Diamonds, and those thoughts had strayed to their projects, the powerful drugs they would use on a person.

Lapis would especially know them well, for Blue Diamond had made her into a test subject once for them. She had been the Shard drug's testing bunny.

Her tears were drying up, a hatred bubbling inside her. Olive, this sweet and precious girl, who deserved all the love in the world, was being used and hurt by someone who had lied and said she'd loved her. She was going to be put through the same horror they'd all been through. Olive didn't deserve that. Even if she had broken Lapis' heart, Lapis still loved and cared about her.

Pearl gently turned the Hawaiian girl's head to look at her. "Lapis, are you sure it was her, because I saw her near Peridot's apartment once, and I didn't recognize her!" The peach haired woman told her before handing her a photo of the three sisters. While yes, Jaune had been much curvier, and had more natural looking dirty blonde hair, the resemblance was still there.

"It's her. She's changed a lot, I know. And she looks a lot different than this picture, but it's the same eyes. Pearl she's changed, she's not Jaune anymore, the Diamonds they-"

"I know." Pearl cut her off, her eyes closed before gazing at the photo. "I know what they did. They broke my sister. She's a monster now."

"So what do we do? Guys, we're all low on bullets. Do you really think we can do this?" Said Amethyst, and Lapis nodded. Determination flooded through her, she would rescue Olive, and make sure that Limone would never hurt another soul ever again.

All of them got into Sheena's car, low on ammo but ready for the fight. Lapis had managed to once get Peridot to talk about Limone's apparent home, saying that it was an old re-purposed warehouse. And so the pink haired woman started driving as quickly as she could to the nearest one to them. The one just past the border into Homeworld. They had all cleaned up a bit, changing into better clothes and making sure to notify Rose that they were leaving Beach City

For the first time in a while, the text had been read.

Lapis had Olive's necklace in her coat pocket, her heart pounding as they pulled up to the eerie warehouse. At once, the Mafia got out of the car, guns out as they slowly entered the building, Jasper taking Amethyst with her down a hall.

The lights were dim and flickering, some out completely. Lapis walked forward a bit, watching the security cameras as blood roared in her ears. They all jumped when the PA system suddenly came on, that awful smug voice now talking to them. "Hello!" The bitch called. "Glad to see you could all make it, I'm guessing you want your friend back hm? Well guess what? She's a bit busy at the moment, it came as a bit of a SHOCK to her." Limone began to laugh, the harsh sound filling the room.

"P-please... S-stop... Lapis, help me..." A weak little voice could be heard too. Olive, the love of Lapis' life, was there, begging for her suffering to end.

"Oh SHUT UP ALREADY!" Limone screeched. A click could be heard, followed by Olive screaming out in pain. Limone was shocking her, probably had a collar on her too... On this innocent girl who'd only wanted love...

Lapis was very glad she'd brought a knife with her.

"Jaune, please, this isn't you! Don't you remember me, your sister, Blanche! We can give you a real home, a real family! Please, don't do this!" Pearl begged, but to not avail.

"Oh please, as if you care anymore about what happens to me, you had the chance to TRY and help, but you didn't. And I'm GLAD you didn't, the Diamond Authority showed me there's a better way to live, and I'm NOT going to let you take it from me!" There was a quiet whimper noise in the background before Limone's voice rang out again.

"Biggs! Agate!" Limone snapped, "Get them!"

And with that, two large women rounded a corner and lunged at the group, clawing and fighting with all their strength. Lapis dodged a blow from Biggs (the name being on a collar) before delivering a sharp punch to the buff woman's side, just below her ribcage, making her take a step back. Lapis took the opportunity and down the hall from which the two had come from, praying it would lead her to Olive.

The PA system crackled to life as Limone's laughter cackled through it. "You're in for a real shock Crystal FREAKS! Or at least, Olive is!" She laughed as Olive's scream and cries sounded through the building, Lapis feeling a rush of anger and hatred as she heard Olive sob and beg Limone to stop, her voice broken.

"You bitch!" Lapis snarled, slamming open a door and looking into the room, no one inside. Limone's laughter echoing in her ears.

"What's the matter Crystal? Can't find me?" She taunted, the name she used making Lapis' skin crawl. The blue haired woman had searched for a while now, her fear and anger building up inside her as more and more doors held nothing behind them, the two bullets she had left a grim reminder of how low she was right now. Her heart had been stolen, ripped out of her chest by this bitch.

Lapis did feel sympathy, not to Limone, but to Jaune, and Pearl. For Pearl it was the knowledge that her beloved sister wanting to become the very thing that had caused her endless pain, and for Jaune? It was that she had become this. She had been so warped by the Diamonds that she was beyond fixing, that at one point in her life she could have been saved, and she hadn't. And now she never would, not one single thing could change this.

One thing was for sure though, not matter what happened, she wasn't leaving this building without Olive. Sympathy be damned, Limone would be dead by the end of the night.

POV SHIFT- Jasper Redimido

"Come on Amethyst, we have to hurry and find her! She's way too weak, if this goes on any longer it'll kill the poor kid!" Jasper barked as she sprinted through the hall, her long hair tied back in a ponytail and tucked into her large winter coat. Her younger sister ran beside her, the two of them opening every door they could, hoping they could find Peridot quickly. Biggs and Agate looked tough to deal with, they hoped Garnet Pearl and Sheena could hold them off. 3 against 2 though, those had to be good odds right?

A growl of frustration came from the white haired woman when she had opened another door only to find the little room empty. The same sound from Amethyst too, the two of them trying not to lose hope. Jaune... Limone's voice echoed through the PA system, shouting orders and taunting them, doing... Something to Olive that was making her scream in pain.

"Jasper..." Amethyst panted as the two checked an empty closet, the thought of how empty their guns were came to mind but she forced it down. "I don't think she's round this part..."

"We have to keep looking though, at least we're narrowing it down. This nutcase wants to be a Diamond, which means there could be a real one watching over her, making sure she does it right." Jasper told her before a soft giggle rang in her ears, making her heart freeze over.

There she was. High heels, a bright shining coat made of odd material, glossy lips, curly pink hair, a sweet smile and those soft eyes that hid so much. A belt around her skirt, on it were blades of all kinds, a machete at her hip, her hand on the hilt as she watched the sisters.

"Well well well, hiya Jessibelle, it's been a while hasn't it?" She asked, her smile turning from sickly sweet to sadistic and bloodthirsty.

"P... Pink..." Jasper's eyes widened, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to prove myself. If I destroy the Crystal Gems, I can finally get recognition that I DESERVE!" Pink snapped, her weapons glinting in the flickering hallway light. "You and your stupid group have been in the Diamond Authority's way for too long." She growled. "I'm supposed to be powerful, and when I destroy you, I'll get EVERYTHING I want!"

Amethyst glared at her. "Get lost you little freak!" She snarled, but Pink wasn't having any of that.

The smug woman laughed at the sisters, her grin wide as she struck one of her white-tipped matches against her teeth. She held it up to one of the old fire sprinklers, laughing as an alarm went off, a foul smelling liquid spraying all over the hall, running off of Pink's coat easily, and spraying onto the sisters, with Jasper shielding Amethyst using her arm.

Suddenly, flames broke out through the hall, and Jasper knew exactly what the liquid was. Gasoline. She threw her thick coat over her sister, not letting her get burnt by the flames. Pink ran off down the hall, Jasper keeping Amethyst close to shield her from the flames. The white haired woman roared in pain as the fire seared her skin.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Warning for graphic violence. Please comment your thoughts!**_

"Please... M... My Diamond, I'm sorry." She murmured, shaking in her cage like a little leaf in a windstorm. Hunger gnawed at her and she fought the urge to sob and start bawling all over again. She was fighting not just hunger anymore, but dehydration too now.

The blonde stared up at her captor, the heartless yellow eyes that stared back, no sympathy or love in the older woman's heart. The electric collar around the smaller blonde's neck was the proof. No one was coming to save her, no one should want to anyway, she didn't deserve it.

She flinched at the sound of the older woman's voice. "Now behave yourself, PET. You belong to me now, and you'll do exactly as I say. Is that clear?"

The smaller woman nodded fearfully, her eyes feeling damp. "Y-yes..." She murmured, but screamed when a painful shock roared through her, pain spiking all at once though her thin body, making her collapse and lay on the bottom of the cage, staring up at the tall woman with blurry vision.

"Yes, WHAT?"

"Yes, My Diamond..." She murmured softly, her head low, looking up towards the imposing woman she was supposed to have loved. Once upon a time, so far back in her childhood, her life had been like a sweet dream.

Now all it was, was a waking nightmare. Her Diamond knelt down, gently pressing a hand to the blonde's face.

"Good girl, Limone."

Limone stared at the tiny blonde in front of her now, looking up at her the same way she had looked at Yellow Diamond, Her Diamond. This girl... What had Crystal called her, Peridot? She had been so innocent, so naive, starved for attention that she'd take it from anyone. Practically a baby, put through the education system so young, too fast, moved from her home country at an early age, bullied through her youth, only for her mother to turn on her and drive her out onto the streets. She was desperate for validation, for love, to be told that she was beautiful and worth something.

It was disgusting. Limone had taken advantage of it, of this innocent woman with a heart of gold. A broken person, what had she done to deserve this?

What had Limone herself done to deserve what she had gotten?

She pressed down the button, sending the tiny girl into a fit, screaming and crying for the pain to stop. Olive, Peridot, whatever the hell her name was, had tears rolling down her pale cheeks, her nose was running, her voice had gotten rough and broken. She laid on her side, her breath shaking and her body twitching from the electric shocks.

"P... Please Limone..." She whispered. "S... Stop..." Limone just laughed, she'd heard this all before. She'd said it all before, now it was her turn to hold the button.

"If I hurt you, you'll thank me for even bothering to grace your filthy presence. If I insult you, you will not protest, but take it, because your mind is nothing compared to my own. You will do everything I say, you will not eat before I do, you will not sleep until I say so, and you will not speak unless you are spoken to. You, my little green pearl, are my pet, my property, and you will be referred to as such. You will call me 'My Diamond', or my proper title, 'Champagne Diamond'. Is this clear, my pearl?"

The green eyed girl looked up at her.

"Go. To. Hell."

Little bitch was still defiant, still fighting even after all this. She'd break that fighting spirit, she had to. This was her job, they trusted Limone with this over any other pet they could have picked to be a Diamond.

In the long run, she didn't have a choice.

POV SHIFT- Pearl Oiseau

Pearl took a step back to dodge a swift punch from one of the women that had come out to fight the gang. She refused to use her gun on them, they were clearly hurt, just innocent people that had become someone's pets...

Her sister, her dear sister, was no more. She was a monster. Jaune had become the very thing the three of them had despised. She should have been there for her, should have tried harder to free her, none of this would have happened if she could have saved her sister.

The peach haired woman landed another hit on the massive girl in front of her, directly in her lower back. Garnet had left Pearl and Sheena to fight, the taller woman heading off to try and catch up with Lapis, or to help find Peridot. The poor girl still screaming in pain over the PA system, sobbing, unable to speak... The scariest part was when there was silence.

Suddenly, just as swift as Pearl had dodged a hit from the green haired girl named 'Agate', a sharp blow to the back of her head had come from the brown haired one, 'Biggs'. Pearl collapsed onto the floor on her hands and knees, her vision blurring as a wave of nausea hit her. A kick to her ribs knocked her down onto her side.

"Get away from her!" Sheena screamed, and landed a hard punch to Biggs' face. She must have broken the muscular woman's nose, as it was now bleeding. The brown haired girl hissed in pain as she fled the building, Agate had fallen to the floor, she had given up on fighting them...

Pearl tried to get up, but Sheena held her down. "Don't move." The Korean woman said to her. "Breathe Pearl, breathe. It's okay."

It was getting hot in the building, unbearably so, and she swore she could smell... "Fire. Sheena there's fire." She mumbled, trying to get her bearings back.

The pink haired girl looked at her. "What?" She asked, and from a few feet away Agate piped up.

"Pink. Pink Diamond is here. To trap you, to find Rose Quartz." She murmured, coughing and spluttering. "Thought Rose Quartz would come here to protect you."

Fear pulsed inside of Pearl, Agate was right. Rose had responded to Pearl's message that she was on her way, she would be here any moment, and Pink knew it.

And just her luck, another car pulled up to the building...

Footsteps headed towards them, and a familiar hand was placed on both her and Sheena's shoulders before a pink blur ran down a hall without a word.

"Rose..."

POV SHIFT- Amethyst Prather

Amethyst held her shirt over her mouth and nose with one arm, pulling her now weak sister with the other. 'C'mon, just a little more.' A mantra played in her head over and over as the short girl struggled to see through the smoke, coughing heavily, her eyes filled with tears.

She started to really cry when she saw the exit, bringing her wounded sister out into the snow and finally getting to breathe real air. Pulling Jasper farther from the building and into the snow, the purple haired girl didn't dare look at the burns on her sister's body, she knew some of Jasper's clothes had been ruined, and her hair would need to be cut as the ends had been burned as well. Amethyst quickly put snow on the uninjured parts of Jasper's body, praying it would at least somewhat help, maybe with cooling her down.

She watched as one of the women who had initially attacked them fled into the night, moments later, Rose's car pulled up far away from the two sisters, and Rose went inside. Amethyst watched her sister breathe, weak and shaky nothing like the way she was supposed to be. Jasper was the strongest of the two, she promised she would always protect Amethyst, but... Amethyst never thought it would lead to this.

Soon enough, Sheena came out carrying Pearl in her arms, and the Hispanic woman almost screamed seeing her best friend limp in the older woman's arms until Pearl moved a bit, clinging to her fiance as Sheena kissed her forehead.

The purple haired girl took out her phone, and called Cat. It rang three times before the black haired girl picked up, answering in a soft, tired voice. "Yeah?" She asked, and before Amethyst could answer she broke down in another coughing fit. Cat sounded much more urgent now, "Amethyst are you okay?!"

"No..." Amethyst wheezed, her voice about as smooth as sandpaper, "Help, please, fire... Homeworld... Warehouse... Help..." She coughed again, and Jasper groaned a bit from where she was laying on the ground.

"Okay," Said Cat, "I'm on my way with Aqua. Hang on Ame, we'll help you." And with that there was a small rustle, and the big woman hung up.

Sheena was on the phone, probably with an ambulance or firefighters or something.

Within the building there was a deep rumble, and with horror, Amethyst knew what it meant. The thing was starting to come crashing down, with Garnet, Lapis and Peridot still inside.

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

This was it, now or never. Someone had taken the love of her life away with the intent to all but kill her. Fury burned inside her, the voice in her head saying that this would never work, that this burning hell would claim her life along with Olive's too. That she would never have the future she dreamed of.

Telling her she'd never be able to get down on one knee and propose to her, never get to stand there and watch as her angel walked down the aisle, never be able to plan to have a little family, feeling tiny movements within her wife's stomach as they picked out names, and never get to hold her children close to see them. If Lapis died here, if Olive died here, all of that would be ripped away.

The Hawaiian girl held up her gun, only two bullets left inside of it now, she'd have to use them wisely.

Lapis headed quickly down the hall, feeling the air around her get hotter as she moved forward, ignoring the screams in her head that told her this was all for nothing.

The door ahead of her was locked. Two locks on it, the first being a simpler one, the door handle with a keyhole in it. Lapis pointed her gun towards the lock, took a step back to aim, and fired. Within a second it had been all but blown clean off, the blue haired woman grabbing the end of it for one final pull.

She felt icy talons wrap around her heart and squeeze. The other lock was a retina scan with a Diamond symbol on it. Only... Only a member of the family could get in. Lapis felt herself grow cold as she brought her face up to it and opened her eyes wide. A beep was heard, and the door was unlocked.

The sight of the room would haunt her memory forever. Limone stood there holding a remote that was plugged into the wall, and the girl she knew as her sweet angel locked up in a tiny cage, almost naked with an electric collar on, laying on her back, not moving. Lapis' vision filled with red. She didn't care how, Limone died here and now.

Lapis was about to charge the evil hag until she held up the remote. "One more step, and I fry her fucking brain." Limone hissed. The two stood there staring each other down, Lapis' gun hidden behind her back.

She looked around the room, not moving a muscle. There, on the wall was an electrical box, must have been powering part of this place. One bullet left...

Lapis fired her single shot, her arm quickly aiming to the power box. It connected with a sharp crackle, and all the lights went out.

Once smug, Limone now felt nothing but fear. She pressed the button, and nothing happened. Lapis pulled out her knife and surged forward with all the strength of a tidal wave. She knocked Limone onto the ground, making sharp cuts and stabs at the woman's stomach and thighs, all the soft bits that were easy to hurt through her thin clothes. Limone screamed in pain and fear, trying to fight back only for a sharp punch in the chest to keep her down.

Lapis' laughter howled and echoed through the room, keeping up with her stabbing, enough to hurt like hell but not enough to kill. Her hand was coated in blood though, a puddle starting to form underneath them.

She sliced away at Limone's arms, leaving dark red lines that left streaks on the ground, soaking the floor in red. Dragging the tip of her blade around to carve 'Peridot' on the thin woman's abdomen as Limone screamed for mercy, struggling and causing the knife to dig deeper when she moved.

Limone began to cry, tears leaking down as Lapis dragged her blade around on her body. "M... My Diamond, help me!"

Lapis grabbed her hair and slammed the back of her head against the ground. "No one will ever miss you, pet." She told the wretched little witch.

"W... What?" Asked Limone, her eyes filled with nothing but pure, unbridled terror.

Lapis made sure to pin Limone so she could no longer move, holding her face with one hand and the hilt of the blade with the other, holding it just above Limone's circular scar.

"You knew this was coming, you deserve it."

With a grin, she drove her knife into Limone's chest, directly into the scar she had, deeper and deeper before slowly slicing downwards. She locked eyes with the older blonde woman. "And you know you deserve it."

Limone never even had a final scream, her mouth had opened in an endless silent wail. Laying in a puddle of her own blood in a building that had turned her into a monster. Lapis left the knife inside her, unable to muster any will to pull it out, and walked over to Olive.

Olive, fearful from the loud noises, had curled up into a shivering little ball, her eyes closed. Tenderly, Lapis opened it up, and reached inside. Olive flinched away at first, but allowed Lapis to delicately pick her up.

The blue haired woman knelt on the floor, holding the tiny blonde in her arms, her lips were bruised, one of them bloody, her skin was soaked in sweat and her neck had a red mark around it from the collar, which Lapis had quickly ripped off of her. Her eyes were dull and glassy as she stared up at the blue haired woman.

"P... Olive? A-are you okay?" She asked, shaking. No response from the Greek woman. "Are you alright?"

A small shake of Olive's head told her all she needed to know. Lapis had to suppress the urge to hold her tight, which would risk hurting her, and instead went for trying to bring the shaken woman back to reality. At least a little.

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" She said calmly, and Olive moved her arm to point at something.

"L..." Her broken voice tried to speak, but Lapis shushed her.

"Don't strain yourself, it's okay."

"Behind you..."

Lapis' blood ran cold as she turned around, only to be smacked over the head with a baseball bat. She dropped to the floor, her vision blurry and her consciousness fading fast. Lapis saw a pink blue in the corner of her eye grab Olive, watching as the blonde was taken away.

And everything went black.

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

...

...

No...

Why...

She had been in Lapis' arms, then that awful woman had managed to sneak up behind Lapis, she hurt her too. The lady had dropped the baseball bat after hitting Lapis with it, leaving her behind in the room and not even bothering to close the door.

"So, she likes you hm? Thinks you're pretty? Let's see how 'pretty' you are after I'm done with you." The woman hissed, slinging Peridot over her shoulder like she was a little sack of potatoes. The Greek girl squirmed and whimpered, trying to move with such little energy left and failing. She coughed from the smoke entering this hall, and tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her face when the woman brought her into another room and pinned her against the wall using a single arm.

In her free hand, a sharp knife.

Peridot sobbed as the pink haired girl managed to manoeuvre her other hand, using a knee to keep the blonde in place, and grabbed her bangs. Her bangs, the only thing hiding her scar away from the world. With a few swipes she had shredded them, leaving Peridot's forehead exposed.

"Who... Who are you?" The Greek woman managed to choke out, finding it hard to breathe with some of the smoke entering the room now from the open door. The woman shut the door, re-pinned her to the wall with an arm on her ribs and leaned in close.

"Your worst nightmare."

After that, a sharp pain in her head as the pink haired woman brought the knife down to it, carving into her scar. Peridot could feel blood coming up, not too much but enough to make her scream more. Her screeches of fear were met with a cruel laughter.

In that moment, Peridot wanted nothing more than for that knife to sink in, to end her pain and misery. Tears spilled over more and more as she sobbed and screamed for mercy.

Peridot called out, begging desperately for someone outside the room the help her, to save her...

But nobody came.

POV SHIFT- Rose Quartz

She listened for any sign of a person around, a voice, movement, anything.

"What's the matter, scared your dumb bitch isn't coming to help you?" A nasty voice could be heard from down the hall, along with faint crying. Rose knew the voice all too well. She took off down the hall, pulling her knife out and getting to the door where the sounds had been coming from. She glared

The retina scanner... Only a member of the Diamond family could get into this room. She sighed heavily, gripping her knife tightly in her hand. Pink had definitely hidden in here, she could hear her laughter now within the room, the cries had all but gone silent.

Rose bent down a little showing her eyes to the scanner. It beeped, and a moment later the door unlocked.

"Pink!" She roared, "Stop it!" Rage burned within her seeing that the smaller pink haired woman held a tiny blonde girl pinned to the wall, a bloody knife cutting at her forehead as she sobbed.

She watched as Pink threw the tiny woman onto the ground, the little blonde's forehead was bleeding and she struggled to move, her clothes ripped away showing her sickly thin body.

Fire had burnt in through a wall, casting the room in a hellish orange glow, Rose knew this had to end, she had to save this girl and the others. "Pink, this has to stop."

The younger woman looked at her and held up her own knife. "You. You took everything from me, you were like a sister to me Rose, and you humiliated me! We trained together, and when it came down to who was supposed to be the 4th Diamond, you beat me only to not take it, then when we try to give you power, you TURNED ON YOUR FAMILY!" Pink screamed. "White loved you, RAISED YOU alongside me, and you repay her by stealing from her!"

Rage bubbled inside of Rose, even more-so when Pink swung her knife at the older woman, screaming and cussing. "You're a liar Rose Quartz, you bitch!"

Rose moved out of the way of Pink's blade taking her own and leaving a cut on the smaller woman's arm, hissing when Pink had made her own cut. The chubby mafia leader now had a cut just over her left breast, blood welling up to stain her light pink shirt.

She moved forward, "I don't want to do this!" She shouted, leaving another cut on Pink's shoulder. The shorter of the two laughed and swung again, this time at Rose's side and leaving a small but painful slice.

"I DO!" She snarled, another swing at Rose's head. The older woman duck to dodge it, and swung her knife up...

She didn't know Pink had taken a step closer. The smaller woman took in a sharp breath as Rose's knife sunk into something soft, warm liquid now running over her hand as Pink dropped her blade. Rose looked up, her eyes wide with terror seeing what had happened.

Horror flooded over her like ice, and she swore her heart stopped seeing the blade sunken deep into Pink's stomach, the smaller woman took a step back, and the blade fell to the floor with a sharp clink. It echoed in Rose's ears. A puddle of blood splashed onto the floor, Rose had made a deep, wide cut.

Pink looked up at her, a sick smile on her face. "So much for pacifism, right Red Diamond?" The pink haired woman gave one final laugh, and fell to the ground, her eyes glazing over only a moment later.

Pink Diamond was dead.

A small cough brought her back to reality, at least a little. With shaking, blood-soaked hands she scooped up the tiny girl that Pink had been holding, and ran out of the building.

POV SHIFT- Garnet Avenir

She held her shirt over her mouth and nose, ignoring the embers that singed her skin as she ran through the building. She knew something bad would happen. Pink Diamond had been here, lighting the building on fire as a trap for the Crystal Gems.

She had seen Steven and Rose arrive outside earlier, Steven staying in the car and Rose heading inside the building.

The heat was unbearable, and Garnet had to be quick to get away from the parts of this place that were starting to collapse. She had seen Amethyst, Jasper, Pearl and Sheena out there, and taking another glance she saw Rose and Peridot, but not Lapis.

And by god she was not leaving this place until the blue haired woman did too. Lapis was part of her family just as much as the others were, Garnet loved them all.

There, in an open room, laying unconscious near a bloodied body, was Lapis. Her friend, a member of her family, had been hurt. There was a cage near her, the door open with a collar nearby... She must have found Peridot, only for the blonde to be taken away again...

Garnet slipped an arm under Lapis' knees and another underneath her back. The smaller woman softly groaned as she was picked up, with Garnet holding her tight. "It's okay Lapis, you're safe now, I've got you." She gently murmured to the blue haired girl, and made her way outside as quickly as she could.

No one messed with her family, just another reason for vengeance on the Diamonds...

POV SHIFT- Rose Quartz

She watched as Cat and Aqua pulled up in their car, and heard sirens in the distance. Help was on the way for them, and by god they needed it. Pearl had a minor head injury, Amethyst was suffering from some smoke inhalation, Jasper had been severely burned...

Her heart had been racing, and Rose had nearly burst into tears seeing Garnet carry Lapis outside. The powerful woman was mostly unharmed save for a few small burns, but Lapis had very clearly been hit with something. Her voice was slurred and she couldn't stand on her own, Garnet had set her down to lean on a tree.

The tiny blonde woman in Rose's arms had inhaled a lot of smoke, too weak to cover her nose and mouth, not to mention having been thrown near a vent that had smoke coming from it... She was barely breathing at all, and couldn't quite seem to wake up, at least not fully...

Paramedics came, and Rose had quickly lied to them, saying that they had been trying to rescue 'Olive' from her kidnappers, only to have them set the place ablaze...

Well, it was true in a way...

Her mind couldn't stop going to the image of Pink, laughing as she died, and calling Rose by that horrid name... It was something that had been burned into her mind forever...

The ambulances drove away, and the firefighters began to spray the building, which had been reduced to rubble now. There was nothing left to save. She watched as the people who had taken Jasper and the small woman drove off into the distance, she would follow them in a moment, she'd pay the medical bills.

Rose felt a small tug on her shirt, and looked down. She saw Steven looking up at her, his eyes filled with tears. Never had Rose seen her son so scared. "M-mom?" He asked in a shaking voice, "What are we gonna do now...?"

Rose looked around at her friends, at Pearl who had fallen unconscious clinging to Sheena, Amethyst who sat in the snow coughing and wheezing, at Garnet who rested against a tree crying softly as she hugged Cat, and at Lapis who had collapsed in the snow looking up at the smoke filled sky unable to get up anymore.

"I don't know..."


	25. Chapter 25

"Olive, sweetie, come inside and get changed!" Her mother called, looking out the window at the small blonde and waving to her.

"Coming momma!" Olive squeaked and ran inside after her mother. The tiny girl was wearing her swimsuit, playing around in the small pool with her brothers. They were so much bigger than the 10 year old girl, but she wasn't scared to wrestle around in the water with them, they knew to be nice and gentle when she wanted to play rough.

Her mother led her upstairs into her bedroom, and Olive shivered from being out of the warm water. A thick towel was wrapped around her when she stepped inside but it didn't stop her teeth from chattering. Her mother's bedroom was a bit warmer though, Olive liked it.

She was so happy to be on summer break, kids at school seemed to delight in making fun of her. The teasing over her Greek accent had finally stopped, but they still liked teasing her over her name, or her weight, or her glasses, or the fact that she was blonde. She had skipped grades, and was on the verge of graduating elementary school. She'd be turning 11 in a week, and she couldn't be happier.

"Olive, can you pass mummy her shirt? The red one please. And put on your new green summer dress that daddy bought for you." Asked her mother, her beautiful green eyes gleaming with joy as always to see Olive with her. Olive's father had told her that her mother was taking new types of medicine so she wouldn't be so moody all the time. But Olive knew it was only a matter of time until she stopped taking the medicine, she always did.

The Greek woman was changing, and Olive slipped out of her bathing suit and into her normal clothes. She watched as her mother straightened her hair. "You look so pretty mummy." Olive murmured as she slipped on her dress, and her mother smiled.

"Thank you baby." She replied as Olive grabbed the shirt off the bed. The tiny girl noticed as she carried it over that tag on the back read 'S', she knew all the clothing sizes out there she knew it meant small. Her mother was a thin woman, with long blonde hair that was beautiful, her eyes sparkled like green fire, Nora was everything Olive wanted to be.

Olive handed her the shirt, and as her mother put it on, she looked at her own dress that she and her father had picked out.

'XL'.

Years later, Olive, now in college, walked around the clothing store. She had joined in with her college's swim team and had finally managed to drop all her apparent 'baby fat'. The blonde had slimmed down, and was now on her way for new clothes to wear, as hers were now all officially too big to wear properly.

With a smile on her face she entered the change room, though that smile quickly faded when she couldn't seem to get anything to fit over her hips. With a sharp growl, Olive settled for medium clothes, and left.

At Lapis' house, Peridot had been given new clothes, and had an option to get more. She stood in the store's changing room, staring into a mirror. She had lost so much weight in the last few months, even on her hips. She watched herself in the mirror as the 'XS' clothes slipped on with ease. Peridot didn't understand, this should have made her happy.

Why wasn't it enough?

Why...

...

Why was everything so dark?

Dark... Everything was so dark, her throat ached along with the rest of her body. The last thing she remembered was that... Horrible woman, staring her down as she jabbed the tip of a knife into Peridot's forehead. Then everything went fuzzy again.

Lapis had come after her, she'd murdered Limone just to save the blonde. The blue haired girl had been so gentle though as she'd opened Peridot's cage, scooping her up and holding the Greek woman's almost limp body. She hoped Lapis was okay.

The blonde couldn't seem to wake up, she couldn't seem to muster any strength. The world was dark around her, an endless black that threatened to swallow her whole. Peridot closed her eyes, and shut it out.

POV SHIFT- Rose Quartz

Peridot was alive. Jasper was alive. That was what mattered. Pink had to die, she wouldn't have let Rose leave in peace.

Still, the sight of the pink haired woman lying there dead by Rose's blade haunted her.

Rose shook her head, she had more important things to worry about now. Her friends were hurt badly and needed people to be there for them. The pink haired woman sat by Peridot's bed, the poor girl had an IV in her arm, and something over her mouth and nose to help her breathe. She hadn't woken up yet, but she twitched occasionally.

The doctors said she would most likely make a full recovery. But she had damaged her throat from screaming, and all the smoke inhalation. Her neck had been burned from an electric collar, and the cut on her forehead was quite bad. Her skin had been covered in ash, and they'd had to cut away her bangs that had been caked with blood.

Rose was thankful that the burns didn't seem to be too bad, they were already starting to heal a little. It was her breathing that Rose was worried about. It was rattly and came out sounding like a wheeze, but at least it hadn't stopped. The doctors had managed to get her breathing to be more stable, but she would need more time to heal.

Then, there was Jasper... Rose had cried and sobbed hearing what had happened to the poor woman. She had more severe burns that had affected her arms, legs, face and even her a bit of her torso. Some of the tall woman's hair had to be trimmed away as well, leaving it just past her shoulders. Jasper would be fine with just having to have her hair cut, it seemed to grow quickly but... With burns like those, she would be scarred for life.

The pink haired woman wished she could rewrite the past, she would have gone there sooner and saved them. She wouldn't have gone into a Diamond hideout, the only thing it had done was get her phone smashed in a fight and cut her off from the Crystal Gems for so long while she'd been in hiding. The Diamond Authority was trying to spread its poison further out, with Rose trying so hard to control the damage, to stop them all by herself without regard for her friends, who'd sworn their loyalty to her in her efforts to stop the Diamonds.

Steven was with her, sitting on a chair next to her and quietly eating the takeout she had bought for him. Garnet was here too, watching over Jasper. The two were good friends despite their love of teasing one another sometimes. Jasper mocking Garnet for being a dork, or Garnet making terrible puns to make Jasper angry, even if she loved the jokes in secret.

Ruby and Sapphire had gone into a terrifying radio silence. It hurt to think about, but it was most likely that the two lovers had been taken by Blue, Yellow or White Diamond.

Rose couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this, she should have acted sooner in her youth, should have realized that her adoptive mother, White Diamond, was a horrible person...

White Diamond had taken Rose in when she was just a little girl, her parents abandoning her in a hospital on the day of her birth. White had given her the name 'Red Diamond', and she had been expected to eventually become the fourth Diamond in the group. White hadn't quite raised her like a daughter, and 'Red' had grown up alongside Pink, the baby that had come as quite the surprise.

Rose had been expected to be cruel, merciless, and heartless. But when she had seen the cruelties inflicted on people like Pearl, Amethyst, Jasper, and Garnet, she had to step in and fight back. She and Pink had been equals, best of friends, almost attached at the hip. They looked so alike as well, some even thought they were the same person, and for a long while, neither girl minded. But where Rose had grown some mercy, Pink had gone a much darker path, tricking people and using them as if they were worthless to her, as if their feelings never mattered at all. Using Jasper and Amethyst, abusing Pearl so badly the poor woman's psyche was destroyed, and helping to keep Garnet chained up in a cell.

Lapis had been the 'surprise' though. Rose had no idea of how badly Blue Diamond had been treating her daughter. She could see those blank, doll-like eyes staring back at her on the rare chance they talked, how Lapis would twitch or flinch away from being touched by any adult. How aggressive she got if anyone put an arm around her waist suddenly, or touched her neck, or grabbed her wrists. Rose had never thought the Blue would hurt her that badly.

Then again, she had once thought that the Diamond Authority had been good, had fought on their side too. Oh how stupid she'd been to believe their lies...

Garnet stepped in, a frown on her face as she watched Peridot. Rose looked up at her, "Is Jasper getting better?" She asked.

The tall woman seemed to take a minute before holding up her hand and wiggling it. "A little. Her breathing is better, and the burns aren't showing any signs of infection, yet. I sent out Pheonix and Zeke to check up on the things with Bismuth too." She explained, "And I have some pretty good news."

Rose began to grin, and Steven gasped softly, looking up from his phone where he had been playing a game. "Is she okay? Where is she?" Rose's son asked, his eyes bright with hope.

"She's in Jasper's room, she hasn't left her side. I can't wait to see Jasper's face when she sees her girlfriend again." Said the dark skinned woman with a brilliant smile. "I think it'll help her a lot, knowing that Bismuth is right here with her."

Rose nodded, and although she smiled, she couldn't help but worry deep in the back of her mind.

Where were Ruby and Sapphire?

TIME SKIP- 2 days later

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

Someone was looming over her. A very familiar looking someone.

"Sheena...?" Peridot murmured as she looked up, her sight was blurry. The woman looming over her had pink hair, she looked just like... Like Pink Diamond, that had to have been that girl's name, the one who had grabbed Peridot after Lapis had found her.

"Not quite." A voice murmured, and giggled. Peridot started to squirm, and when she felt a jabbing pain in her arm, she could feel something there... A needle in her arm... She tried to pull it out, only to be grabbed by a large, soft hand. "No! Don't! You need that! Peridot you're in a hospital!"

The tiny woman looked up, holding her hand was a woman she didn't know, with poofy, curly pink hair. There was something warm over her mouth, a... A breathing mask... Thing? Peridot couldn't think straight, she was terrified. One moment she had been in darkness, calling out to go home, now she was here in a hospital bed.

The blonde began to cough, and fell back against her pillows, wheezing and struggling to take deep breaths. After a moment passed she managed to take a few shaky breaths. A doctor came into the room and began talking to the odd woman, before turning to her. "Miss Odelet, can you hear me?" He asked, and Peridot nodded. "Alright. Now, you were found in a very serious condition by this woman here. You were in a large fire, and while you weren't burned, you breathed in a lot of smoke. Combined with being extremely underweight and... Well, you really gave us all a good scare."

Peridot looked up at the man and asked in a broken voice, "I did?"

He nodded gravely, gesturing outside the room for a nurse to come inside. "Indeed. We thought we were going to lose you, but you made it. Now, we need you to keep that IV inside your arm, and to keep you mask on until your breathing gets stronger. However, you are allowed to take that mask off in order to attempt to eat food. We brought things that should be easy to swallow."

She watched as a young man walked in carrying a tray with a few small cups on it. "Okay Miss, we have water, pumpkin soup, and a little bit of jello for you." He said with a soft smile as he placed the tray on a little table attached to Peridot's bed, the smell of the warm soup making her stomach rumble painfully. "You'll be staying in bed while you recover, and you'll be getting small meals like this every two hours, or more if you ask." He explained before setting a few napkins down near her... Lunch? Dinner? What time was it?

Peridot quietly thanked him, and let the doctor take her oxygen mask off. The tray of food was moved closer to her, and she began drinking her water. The blonde took a few shaking breath, cringing at the sound of herself wheezing a little, and took a small bite of her jello. She smiled softly, the thought of eating anything repulsed her and scared her, but at least if she was forced to have something, it would be her favourite flavour.

The soup was a little harder to get down though, mostly because the Greek woman just wanted to go back to bed. She barely had much energy, but in the end with some encouragement from the pink haired lady, Peridot finished, happy to push the tray away, put her mask back on and rest on her pillow.

She looked up at the woman who had been here the whole time, being so kind towards her. "Who are you?" Peridot asked.

"My name is Rose Quartz. I lead the others, I imagine you've probably heard a few stories about me." Said the chubby woman, and she gently took one of Peridot's tiny hands. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli

She stared up at the ceiling, her mind filled with a thick, heavy fog. She felt so numb, like she was slowly sinking downwards to the bottom of an ocean. Lapis could hardly remember what was going on, one moment she had been over Limone's body, looking into her eyes as the light drained away from them. The next? Peridot had been in her arms. After that all she could remember was looking up into the night sky, watching embers and smoke rise into the air as she gazed up at the moon, feeling cold.

The ceiling seemed to be moving, she could hear whispers in her head as black marks seemed to slash across the blue haired woman's vision.

"You weren't good enough."

"She'll be dead, and it's all your fault."

"The others will abandon you once they find out you're a freak."

"You're sick, you've been sick for a long time though."

"Get up you idiot you're dying."

Lapis jolted up, and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her and her vision blurred. Where was she, this wasn't her house, and definitely not her bed. She sat up, much slower this time, and set her feet on the floor. She was now in her favourite white t-shirt and navy blue shorts. So... She was at least with someone she knew. It was deathly quiet though.

The blue haired girl stood up, and almost instantly fell to the ground. Her legs felt like a mixture of jello and lead under her, and the back of her head felt like it had been hit with a train. "Fuck!" She groaned, hoping someone would hear her and help her.

There were footsteps, and the door opened. Aqua rushed into her room alongside Cat, with the taller woman scooping Lapis up to put her into bed. The blue haired woman's body felt all too hot and all too cold at the same time, and her head felt like it was full of fluff that she couldn't seem to get around.

"Easy, easy Lapis, you've been out of it for almost three days." Aqua spoke softly to the panicking girl, who struggled to move around. "You barely ate, or slept, or anything..."

"Where... Where is she? Where's Olive?" Lapis asked frantically, clinging onto Cat's strong arms with wide eyes.

She was lifted back onto the bed, and held there. "Relax, Lapis. You were hit on the head, both you and Pearl are getting sick too, probably from taking care or Peridot so much and being so close to her while she was sick."

"But... Olive is, is she okay?"

Cat started to softly push Lapis down, covering her back up with the warm blankets. "She'll be okay, they just need to keep her in the hospital to make sure she recovers properly. Hey, tell you what, I know you've probably been itching to do this, so... Why don't you send out some of the people working for you to go out and buy Peridot some Christmas gifts?"

Lapis nodded blankly and told Caterina the names. The couple went out into the hall where Pearl was watching. The pale woman certainly looked sick, she had a thick blanket over her shoulders and was shaking.

The blue haired woman could hear Pearl out in the hallway, talking to Caterina and Aqua. "Lapis sent out these two people, Vegas and Tweets, they work for her. She gave them both lists of what to grab, so that way we can at least try and focus on the future, right?" She asked the large woman. "We just have to think about the good things like... Like Christmas being only a few weeks away."

Lapis smiled at the thought of having her first Christmas with a real family, with someone who loved her, she'd be able to finally feel joy and excitement.

"That is... I hope it'll be okay, if Peridot and Jasper aren't stuck in the hospital for too long. I hear they're both in really bad shape... Oh, Aqua, shut Lapis' door, I don't want her waking up and hearing this.

Lapis laid still in her bed, feeling like a piece of her had been ripped away. She thought of Olive laying in a bed, all alone, machines all around her helping her breathe. Lapis began to softly weep into her pillow when Aqua shut the door.

TIME SKIP- 2 days

POV SHIFT- Azul

Azul peered into her Diamond's room, taking small and quiet footsteps. Biggs had returned to the base, but not with good news. Pink Diamond had died from Red Diamond, the traitor. Biggs had been using her phone to monitor and record security footage all through the area, even when the power had gone out, the cameras stayed online through a backup generator until it had been destroyed by the fire. But Pink Diamond hadn't been the only death.

Limone had been murdered by Crystal. Azul hadn't cried when she'd heard the news. She knew that if the Crystal Gems got involved it would end in bloodshed. In truth though, her sister had died years ago at the hands of Yellow Diamond. Jaune had become a husk of her former self, and left a monster in her place.

The French girl took a deep breath as she stepped up beside her Diamond. Blue was listening to a guard, flanked by Holly Blue and Aquamarine as she spoke. Biggs had given the young woman the information, and now the poor thing had to relay it over the her boss.

Misty stood in the corner of the room, away from them. Azul glanced at her, but had to look away. She couldn't afford Blue Diamond catching on to the fact that she had feelings for the pregnant woman.

"W-well, you see My Diamond, we didn't know what would happen." The guard stuttered. Blue was quiet, listening intently, the only movement she made was to wipe the constant trail of tears away from her eye. "The C... Beach City Mafia showed up, just like we thought they would. B-but it turns out they've made a few... Changes."

"Like what?"

The young woman gulped, "Well, for one it seems that they have uh, grown attached to the young woman that Yellow Diamond's Pearl was trying to tame. Um, especially uh, one member in particular."

Blue Diamond's unseeing eyes narrowed. "Whom?"

There was silence from the guard, the only sound Azul could hear was the water flowing into the pools in the room, and her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She glanced once again at Misty, who stood close to the shrine Blue Diamond had made to-

"Lapis Lazuli."

Azul shivered, and wanted to cover her ears. "What was that?" Blue hissed, and Azul could see Holly and Aquamarine begin to cower away from their Diamond. "What did you just say?"

"I-I said-" The guard stammered, shaking too much to speak clearly. Blue reached forward and wrapped her thin fingers around the woman's neck. She dragged the poor thing over to the shrine.

"What do you see here?" Blue Diamond snarled.

The guard took a moment to work up the will to talk. "Candles... A-and a mirror shard, a dress and... And pictures of your daughter."

Blue nodded, smiling sweetly. "Yes, that's right. Now tell me, what is my little baby's name?"

"Crystal, Crystal Annabelle Diamond." The guard said confidently, it was a name all blue 'gems' needed to know.

Blue Diamond nodded and, still smiling, jabbed a knife she had been hiding into the guard's throat.

"And don't you forget it."

POV SHIFT- Rose Quartz

Peridot had woken up a few hours ago, and was able to eat a little bit of food. It had to be light however, and she still had almost no strength. Steven had been giving her tiny pieces of his food, mostly french fries. She was being given tiny but healthy meals, and there was always a nurse nearby when she was given them to make absolute sure she was eating her food. The hospital had expressed great concern in Peridot's body weight... Or rather, lack of.

Peridot was a sweet girl, and very peaceful. Rose already adored her, and had giggled when the tiny girl had asked to be read to. She still slept a lot though, so she couldn't talk for too long.

Rose sat in her chair beside Peridot's bed, watching the blonde finish the last of her milk before drifting off to sleep. Steven sat on the end of her bed, silent. Her son no longer had a smile on his face that he'd had only a few minutes ago when Peridot had been awake.

The pink haired woman tapped him on the shoulder. "Steven?" She asked, "Is everything okay?"

He looked at Rose, gave a slight glare, and turned away. "So, when are you leaving town again? I figured you should tell me now, since I'm guessing it'll be soon..." Steven muttered. Rose's eyes widened, he'd never spoken to her like that before.

"What... Steven what are you talking about?"

He turned fully to her, his eyes not angry but... Sad. "You always leave. You never stay for anything, we had to have Thanksgiving without you, again. Mom, it HURTS." He told her, his voice cracking on the last word as his eyes got misty.

Rose looked down. "Steven, sweetheart you know I have my job, and it's getting hectic-"

"Yeah, a job that could kill you. How do you think Dad and I feel, going through every hour of the day knowing you could be hurt, or killed, or worse?" Steven asked, his breathing picking up as tears started to slip down his face. "We love you, I love you, Dad loves you... Please Mum, stop leaving us..."

Rose hugged her son tightly as he started to cry, Steven wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "I won't leave anymore. I promise."


	26. Chapter 26

Sheena slowly walked into the house, it had been little over 2 week now since Peridot, Jasper, and Agate had gone into the hospital. All three women were healing nicely, Peridot's throat was healing up, she no longer wheezed as much, and her voice wasn't as hoarse. Agate was starting to talk a little, the poor thing had been traumatized by the Diamonds. Jasper's legs had mostly healed up, they were the area of least concern. She hadn't woken up yet, which was, in the pink haired girl's opinion, a good thing. She needed as much rest as she could get.

Right now though, she wanted to focus on something else. She had left Garnet, Bismuth, Steven, Rose and Greg over at the hospital, and had driven down through the snow to Aqua and Cat's house. Christmas was coming soon, and the pink haired woman had been making absolute sure everything had been bought. The presents were all being hidden at her home, with a massive tree being put into Lapis' house, it was her turn to have Christmas at her home. The blue haired woman had always hated the holidays, but Sheena had the feeling that Lapis' heart had made a change.

Looking around, she could hear some odd noises coming from upstairs. Sheena walked up to see her poor fiance huddled in the bathroom, her face was flushed as she leaned up against the bathroom counter, her eyes closed and her skin paler than usual as she shivered. Pearl coughed and sneezed, there were a few used tissues near her and on the counter.

"Baby?" Sheena murmured as she knelt down, taking one of Pearl's cold clammy hands in her own. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Pearl looked up at her with watery eyes. "Lapis and I..." Her nose was stuffed up, making her sound odd. "We... Caught what Peridot had. I've mainly got a cold, but I have a fever too, and Lapis has been throwing up anything we give her, she can't even hold down toast or water..." The French woman went into a coughing fit, and slumped against Sheena's shoulder. "I came in here but... I can't get back to bed, I'm... I'm so tired..."

Sheena gently scooped up the shorter woman into her arms. "It's okay now, I've got you." She whispered, and carried Pearl into the room they used whenever they stayed here. She laid the shivering girl on the bed and tucked her in, putting a fluffy pillow under her head before she felt a small tug on her sleeve.

"Water?" Pearl croaked, and Sheena nodded. She grabbed a half full water bottle out of her purse and pushed her fiance into a sitting position, keeping a hand on her back. Pearl had drank quite a bit before giving a slight smile and relaxing. "Lapis is downstairs, she's not taking well to being given medicine."

The pink haired woman sighed. Lapis hated taking pills of any kind, stemming from her mother forcing different drugs into her mouth to use Lapis as her lab rat. The blue haired woman despised needles and pills, even ones that she knew were to help her feel better, she just couldn't quite seem to get over it.

Sheena nodded again down at Pearl, put a cold wet cloth onto her forehead, and went downstairs.

There was Lapis, huddled in the corner of the basement eyeing up Cat and Aqua. "Get that shit away from me." She hissed, her eyes wide with anger and fear. "I want Peridot, take me to see her, NOW!"

"Lapis, she's sick and so are you. Stop it, you're not going to get better if you stress yourself out like this. You need rest." Aqua tried to reason with her. Oh bless the doctor's heart, she thought it was possible. Lapis shook her head, curled up tighter and clamped her hands over her ears.

"I need HER! Go away, leave me _alone_! I HATE YOU!" Lapis howled, her voice filled with terror as she shivered in the corner, her skin soaked with sweat as she looked wildly around the room, as if searching for an escape.

Sheena stepped over to them, making sure to not make any quick or sudden movements. It didn't take a genius to know that the blue haired girl was having an episode, probably one of the ones that would keep Sheena up at night days later, some of the things she could say were disturbing, but the ones that stuck around and buzzed in the pink haired woman's brain were when Lapis seemed to momentarily have the mind of a child, a lost, hurt and scared little girl...

"Shh, it's okay Lapis... It's me Sheena." Said the tall woman as she approached, getting down to be almost eye level with the smaller girl.

Lapis shook her head rapidly and began to hyperventilate. "No, no, I don't want it, I don't want medicine..." She whispered, her voice shaking. "Please, I'm scared..."

Sheena's heart broke, she sounded like a terrified child who was seeing monsters under the bed, needing to be held and soothed but not letting anyone closer out of the desperate fear of being hurt. The older woman held out her hands to show Lapis that they were empty. "I don't have any medicine, see? I'm not gonna make you take any, okay? I just need to know what happened. Why are you scared, is it the pill?" She asked gently.

The Hawaiian gave a nod. "I don't like it... It's too big, I don't trust it." She murmured. Sheena got a bit closer to her, only for Lapis to curl up tighter. "I wanna go home, I want Peri..."

"I know you do honey, but if you go to Peridot like this, you could make her very sick. She has to take a lot of medicine, and she's very weak right now. The doctor said she needs lots of rest, no stress or excitement, and to be kept in a nice healthy place. You wouldn't want to make Peridot all sick, would you?" Sheena said to the smaller woman in a calming voice, and watched Lapis shake her head. "So you have to be a little more patient. I know you hate this, but think about how happy Peridot will be to see you again when she's all better! She really misses you, and I know she'd really want you to take medicine to get better."

Lapis gave a somber noise. "I know..." She whispered. The Hawaiian slowly uncoiled her body, sighing sadly and looking up to the older woman. "Can you hold my hand, please?"

Sheena gave her a warm smile, and took the tan lady's hand into her own larger one. "Sure buddy." She said, before turning to look back at Cat and Aqua. "You guys can give her the medicine now, she'll be okay."

The young doctor sighed with relief, "Oh thank god. I need to bring her fever down." She said as she grabbed a water bottle from Cat. She quickly gave the blue haired woman the pill, and while Lapis had squeezed Sheena's hand tightly enough to probably bruise it, the pink haired woman was at least happy that her friend would be getting better soon.

Cat scooped Lapis up into her arms and carried her back upstairs, back into her own little bedroom. Sheena and Aqua followed her back up, watching Cat tuck Lapis into a bed.

The pink haired girl REALLY hoped things were going better back at the hospital.

POV SHIFT- Garnet Avenir

"I like the tiny one, she's got some real sassy style to her." Said Bismuth quietly as she held Jasper's undamaged hand. Garnet gave a soft chuckle, the rainbow haired woman had been bonding with the tiny blonde (whenever Peridot was awake for more than 5 minutes) and the two seemed to get long well. Of course, Peridot was pretty friendly to everyone she met, so there was really no surprise.

"Yeah, she is pretty sassy when she wants to be. Should see her when she's happy. I swear, she brings us all up." Said Garnet as she sat down next to her friend, tired of pacing around the room. "Little moral boost, and she helps out around the house, even offered to help fix up our cars."

"Damn, must be pretty nice. So where'd you find her?"

Garnet froze up a little. "Um... See we uh..."

Bismuth raised an eyebrow, "'Uh', what? Garnet where did you find this girl?"

The dark skinned woman looked down, her feet were pretty interesting right about now. "Lapis found her. She was a mechanic. I don't know exactly what happened but... I guess she changed something inside of her. Lapis fell into an obsession, which turned into real love, I hope. She... Kidnapped Peridot, had her brought into her home, they've been bonding, and I think Peridot's fully forgiven her by now. I hope everything turns out alright, we all deserve a little goodness after this."

The older woman gave a small nod. "Tell me about it..." She murmured. The two sat in silence for a while, watching over Jasper as she slept. Her wounds were getting better, the burns on her hands were definitely doing much better, even the doctors were impressed. "My Jaspy... A god damn hero. Goin out there to help her friends, saving her baby sister, even when she knew it coulda fucking killed her..." Bismuth gave an empty chuckle before a slight gasp, her eyes going wide.

Jasper was waking up.

The buff woman groaned softly. "Wh... Where am I?" Her voice croaked, and Garnet hurried to press the call button to get the doctors into the room.

"You're in the hospital sweetie, you're gonna be okay." Bismuth whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Everything is gonna be okay."

Jasper looked over towards Bismuth, her amber eyes widening. "Bis... You're here... How?"

The muscular woman smiled softly down at her injured girlfriend. "I had to see you. You know I'd do anything for you." She said, holding onto Jasper's hand, wiping at her eyes a bit and sniffling. "You really scared us, you know that?"

Jasper looked confused for a moment before her expression twisted into a more panicked one. "Where's Amethyst?!" She looked up at Garnet. "Is she okay, where is she?"

"Shh, it's alright, she's okay. She isn't here right now, she's resting in my house as we speak." She explained as calmly as she possibly could. "She's okay now too. She was coughing for a while and had a sore throat, but she's alright."

Garnet watched as Jasper gave a shuddering sigh, the large woman beginning to look at her body as a doctor came in.

"What seems to be... Oh!" The doctor's eyes widened a little as they looked down towards Jasper. "Miss Redimido, you're awake." The doctor began to gently explain everything that had happened, and Garnet watched as Jasper's expression turned from confusion into a pained one filled with terror and heartbreak. "The risk of infection has decreased, and you should be fit to go home by the end of the week so long as your burns are treated properly..." They kept talking, but it seemed the white haired woman wasn't really listening.

"Are... Are these gonna scar?" She croaked. Jasper let out a long heavy sigh followed by a sob after the doctor nodded.

Garnet stepped out of the room, she walked over through the sterile white halls, her old memories flooding in.

Blue Diamond had hallways like these. Lined with cells where she would keep her prisoners, forcing them to cut ties with family and friends. Only one place was worse in the muscular woman's opinion. White Diamond's main building. She had only been in there once, and once was enough.

Garnet peeked into Peridot's room, the blonde was sitting up in her bed, writing on a piece of paper and taking sips from a cup of juice, occasionally taking a small bite off a plate of fruit, cheese and crackers. Rose noticed Garnet peeking in, and walked out to see her.

"How's she doing?" The younger of the two asked, and Rose smiled.

"Pretty good. She's been eating somewhat well, the doctors weighed her while she was asleep a few hours ago, she managed to put on roughly 5 pounds. Positive reinforcement really works on her. I know we're still going to have issues, and I'm setting her up with a therapist per doctor's orders, but I think she's going to get better, slowly."

There was a soft whine from inside the room. "Rose..." Peridot called, and the two walked inside. "Can I please have my DS? I ate almost all my food."

Garnet raised an eyebrow as she looked at the pink haired girl. "What? I never said it was the ONLY thing that worked." Rose said and began to laugh.

She knelt down near the blonde's bed and watched as her brilliant green eyes lit up. "Garnet!" She gasped. She leaned over to hug to tall woman gently around her waist with one of her arms. "The doctor said I'm getting better, I can stay up for almost 5 whole hours without feeling tired at all!" She boasted before Rose handed her the shiny pink DS. She happily began to play one of her games on it.

"That's wonderful." Said the British woman, "What exactly were you writing before you got your DS? You seemed like you were in some deep thoughts when you were writing."

Peridot looked up towards her from her game and blushed. "I... I was writing a letter to Lapis. I don't really know what to say, but... I'm trying. I'm telling her that I'm sorry. That I want to do something with her when I get home, that I AM coming home... Think that's okay?"

Garnet gave the small woman a little pat on the back. "I think it's perfect." She said with a soft smile. "How's your throat and chest feeling?"

Peridot took a bite of her cheese and a large gulp from her drink before she answered. "I'm feeling a lot better. Greg brought me some of my things too, it's nice to have my DS and stuff."

She watched over the shorter girl. She could sense that Peridot was lying a little, that she wasn't truly happy, but she understood. It would be very hard for her to be happy here, this wasn't a place she was used to, and there were strangers forcing her to eat, along with the absence of Lapis, it really wasn't a shock that the little Greek woman was only acting so cheerful to put on a brave face.

Even Garnet was acting. She had tried to call her mothers.

Their phones were disconnected.


End file.
